Car park fire in Hanover – an exploding e-bike battery was the cause

An exploding battery of an e-bike has triggered a fierce car park fire in Hanover, causing a loss of more than half a million euros. More and more, burning batteries of electric bicycles have caused severe fires. Important things must also be taken into account when extinguishing the fire.

E-bikes are gaining in popularity. However, with the growing numbers, fires caused by exploding e-bike batteries are also increasing. On 7 February 2017 the explosion of an electric bicycle battery in Hanover triggered a car park fire with half a million euro damage. The fierce fire, in which nobody was injured, broke out on Tuesday in an e-bike shop on the ground floor of the car park. By the ladder the fire brigade rescued an acutely endangered car driver from one of the completely smoky park decks. The shop was completely destroyed.

 

As the owners of the e-bike store of the police said, there was suddenly a loud bang, and in several places at the same time fire in the shop broke out. The flames would spread quickly. Only after an hour the fire brigade had the fire under control.

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More and more, e-bikes that have been set on fire have caused serious accidents and large fires. For example, in August 2016: in Lower Saxony, the battery of an electric wheel caught fire. In 2013, a hotel guest died in the same place because an overheated e-bike battery had set the whole building on fire. In Weil am Rhein last April, a defective battery set a multi-family house on fire. Such incidents are increasing with the rise of electro bikes and so-called hoverboards.

Transport companies also need special training and competent training to deal with these difficult-to-eradicate materials. GBK Ingelheim therefore offers a variety of training courses and seminars on dangerous goods and hazardous substances. Here you find our current training and seminar program.