A 31-year-old mother and her two children, aged 8 and 4, died last Friday in a fire believed to have been started by an e-bike whose battery was said to have overheated after being charged overnight.
“An investigation is attempting to determine the most likely cause of the fire and in this case we believe it was an electric bicycle that was being charged,” sector commander Stuart Smith said on Monday, as reported by The Mirror.
31-year-old Englishwoman Gemma Germeney is believed to have died in a fire on the first floor of her cottage in Cambridge, England, early Friday morning. Authorities are currently attributing the fire to an electric bike that was charged overnight.
When she was rushed to the hospital, her two children, Lilly Peden, 8, and Oliver Peden, 4, died within hours. A man in his 30s who managed to get out is currently in critical condition.
For their part, the fire service has made clear the importance of not charging an electric bike or e-scooter overnight and advises not leaving the device plugged in longer than necessary to avoid such incidents.
“E-bikes and e-scooters are popular modes of transportation at the moment and we urge everyone who owns one to be aware of the potential risks and to follow simple precautions to reduce the risk of batteries overheating,” continued the commander away the British media.