E-scooter fire leaves family homeless
Essex County Fire and Rescue ServiceA fire caused by the battery of an e-scooter has left a family homeless.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service was called to a house in Basildon at about 10:03 BST on Saturday after an e-scooter battery that had been on charge overnight caught alight.
When firefighters arrived they found the house heavily smoke logged and a fire inside the kitchen.
No-one was injured in the blaze but the fire service has warned people of the risk of batteries being left to charge unchecked.
Joe Fisher, watch manager from Rayleigh Fire Station, said: "Thankfully the residents acted quickly to get out of the house straight away while calling 999, as e-scooter batteries can explode under high temperatures.
"Crews then worked quickly to get the fire under control and prevent it spreading to the house next door.
"We highly recommend people keep a close eye when charging e-scooters as the batteries can very quickly overheat."
He urged people to only buy from reputable retailers.
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