Since electric scooters became legalised in Ireland, they haven’t really been welcomed with open arms. I initially found a ban on electric scooters being carried on public transport as being safety overkill. I was certain the way forward was to create an approved list of scooters which are available for sale from reputable sellers.
Then I read this story about Lainey Cameron and her scooter apparently bursting into blames. I first assumed this was another cheap electric scooter, but then I read the article. Lainey had bought this scooter in Dublin for about €1,500. Looking closely at the pictures, I can see this doesn’t appear to be a cheap knock off scooter.
This looks to be a Kugoo Kirin M4, going by the name on the upright and the rear bar for your foot when riding. It’s also in the upper range of price for electric scooters, so it fits Lainey’s description. Assuming it was purchased from a reputable seller who in turn purchased from a dealer or straight from the manufacturer, it’s highly concerning to see a scooter like this go on fire.
While the article doesn’t say for certain that the electric scooter caused the fire, I find it highly unlikely anything should be looked at as the cause.
This story leaves a very massive question mark over electric scooters and how to safely own and charge one. Though I have to point out here, Lainey did absolutely nothing wrong. The scooter was charging at home but while she and her family were still there. They were observing it and I have no reason to believe there was an incorrect charger being used.
How to Charge an Electric Scooter Safely
So, from here on in, I’ll be talking about how to safely charge electric scooters. But I’m in no way saying Lainey wasn’t doing enough. From what I’ve read, she wasn’t doing anything outside the manufacturer instructions and this is a truly awful thing to have happened to her and her family.
Use the Charger Your Scooter Came With
One of the most important things you can do when charging your electric scooter is using the correct charger. This is either the one your scooter came with, or a replacement supplied by the manufacturer that is suitable for your scooter.
It is really handy having a charger at home and in the office, for example. And I recommend this if you buy a second charger which is officially supported by your scooter and recommended by the manufacturer.
Using a charger which is not suitable for your scooter can cause dangerous levels of overheating and may take some safety features out of play that remove the potential for dangerous fires.
Stay Vigilant for Damage
What disappoints me most about this story is that this seems to be a reputable electric scooter brand. It’s an eye opener for me because I had, until now, assumed these scooters would be safe.
Charge Away from Your Home
We’re often told not to leave devices like washing machines running unsupervised. However, the advice changes for electric scooters. Speaking to RTÉ, Dublin Fire Brigade Station Officer Darren O’Connor recommends that, if possible, electric scooters should be charged away from the home. Whether that be a bike storage unit or a shed.
I live in Dublin with an electric scooter. I have a bike shed, but no charging facilities. It’s nearly impossible to charge an electric scooter as an apartment dweller. If I want to charge it, it’s happening in my living room. I plug it out as soon as it’s finished, but it now going to be a nervier time than it used to be.
O’Connor then recommends that you should be on the lookout for potential indicators that your scooter has some sort of power fault. For example, he recommends that you “have the unit serviced if the performance changes, if you notice overheating on the battery, or difference in the length of time it takes to charge”.
I would well believe it is only a matter of time until we read of home insurance being nullified because a home fire started as result of an electric scooter fire, despite these incidents being few and far between.
If you must charge at home, there is one more thing worth investing in.
Buy an Electric Scooter Charging Bag
You can do everything right. You can charge the scooter with correct accessories, away from your home, plug it out when it’s finished and everything else. Still, it appears a scooter could still catch fire.
If that happens, you’d be very grateful if you were charging your scooter in a fire bag.
This is the IC2 Bag S2. It’s a fireproof bag you can place your electric scooter in while it is charging. It even has a small hole for your charging cable to pass through.
In the event of a fire, having a suitable fire bag like this can dramatically contain the damage caused. This video demonstrates this really well.
Electric scooters are powered by reasonably large lithium batteries. When these catch fire they are difficult to stop and can cause devastating damage. Containing this energy inside a fire bag means you can greatly reduce or stop the amount of damage caused by an electric scooter fire.
I do have to stress that electric scooter fires remain incredibly rare consider the vast number of these devices in Ireland. But when they do occur, they can be devastating.
At over €100, you’d be forgiven for feeling like these are an expensive item to purchase. But after reading the story above and knowing something like this could either stop it or dramatically reduce the impact of that fire, the price tag is a small one.
Respect Water Ratings
One point that rarely gets made about electric scooters is to respect their waterproofness rating. IPX7 ratings mean your electric scooter is suitable for use in Ireland. Let’s face it, Ireland is a wet country and having the proper rating means the internal electronics of your scooter are safe, even when flying through puddles.
If you use a scooter that isn’t rated for use in the rain and it rains, you run the risk of plugging in a compromised device and causing some sort of fire.
Should TfI Have Banned Electric Scooters?
It’s disappointing for me to write this article because I was vehemently against TfI banning electric scooters. Electric scooters, despite these rare instances of fire, remain incredibly useful when it comes to connecting Dublin’s fractured public transport network.
I’m still against public shared scooters schemes coming to Dublin because they are an eyesore and will leave scooters littered across already quite narrow footpaths in an old city. That’s why I always recommended private ownership, so charging can take place at home.
After reading the harrowing story of Lainey Cameron and her mother Lorraine, it’s difficult for me to simply right this off as an isolated incident. Seeing the Kirin logo on the side of the scooter made my heart sink. This is a reputable brand bought in a reputable store, which should leave customers confident that a fire like this shouldn’t happen.
The only recommendation I can make is that if you have an electric scooter, and you charge it at home, you should be doing so in a fire bag. While I’m sure these are not flawless either, they do seem to provide considerable protection against an electric scooter fire.
But this article is about information, not scare-mongering. And fires like this are relatively rare, not that the Cameron family will take any solace from that.
Banning scooters outright on public transport is a disproportionate action versus the benefit they offer thousands of people nationwide.
The sooner we have some sort of regulation on the manufacture of electric scooters alongside an approved list of electric scooter which have reached an approved level of quality, the better. Because the horse has bolted. Electric scooters are popular and won’t be disappearing any time soon. We need to learn how to live with them, safely.
