The newly released guidance document Fire safety guidance for e-bikes in offices responds to the rapid growth in electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs), particularly in urban office environments where cycle storage provision has increased significantly over the past decade. Primarily developed by London based fire engineering company, The Fire Surgery Ltd, the document has been endorsed by the UK chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).
According to the guidance, “in 2023, almost one in 10 bikes sold in the UK were electric – a tenfold increase in less than 10 years”, with “around 180,830 e-bikes sold across the UK”. This growth is closely linked to wider transport and planning policy objectives, with cycling increasingly promoted as part of active travel strategies.
The document notes that “there is a common goal to increase active travel and cycling, supported through transport planning policies in the National Planning Policy Framework, the London Plan, the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and local plans”. Changes to planning standards reflect this shift, with the London Plan moving from “one cycle space per 250 sqm of ‘gross floorspace’” in 2011 to “one cycle space per 75 sqm gross floorspace” in parts of inner London by 2021.
However, the guidance makes clear that e-bikes introduce specific fire risks not fully addressed by existing standards. While documents such as BS 9999:2017 and Approved Document B treat cycle stores as low-risk spaces, they do not specifically address the hazards associated with e-bikes.
The guidance warns that “lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in e bikes, pose unique fire hazards due to their potential to experience thermal runaway”, which may result in “rapidly growing fires with a higher level of smoke venting when compared to the storage of regular bikes”. It also highlights that e-bike fires tend to release higher levels of toxic gases in which the species differ from fires involving regular bikes.
While the likelihood of thermal runaway is described as rare, the document states that risk increases when “aged, poorly manufactured, misused, modified, un-maintained or damaged batteries are used or are paired with incompatible, un-regulated or poor-quality charging equipment”.
The guidance focuses on commercial office buildings and provides recommendations covering “means of escape, automatic fire and smoke detection, notification, fire and smoke containment, automatic suppression, smoke ventilation and overall building fire safety management”. Its stated aim is to “provide safe transit routes within office buildings for life safety and reduce fire hazards during e-bike storage and charging”, with the ultimate goal of improving life safety measures.
The document clarifies that it “is not a statutory guidance document” and should be used alongside a building’s overall fire strategy. It may also support compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and discussions with insurers endorsing the guidance, the SFPE said: “this is the first guidance endorsed by the SFPE UK chapter as part of our initiative to support better fire safety across the industry”.
