A young man who barely escaped an e-scooter fire that destroyed his grandmother's flat has issued a stark warning against owning the vehicles, vowing never to use one again.
Jahmell Campbell was watching TV with his father at the Catford property in south-east London when the device exploded with a sound "like a grenade" in March. The 24-year-old told the PA news agency he jumped from the first-floor window to escape the flames. His father and grandmother fled from the back of the property. "I am not sure how we all made it out of the house alive," Campbell said. The fire gutted the home and forced neighbours to evacuate.
Campbell described the moment the blaze erupted. "We looked towards the front door and we just saw lots of smoke and flames coming out of the room," he told PA. "Of course, we didn't really understand what happened still, because we're just kind of like, is this actually happening in our house?" He only realized what had happened after escaping the building.
The psychological toll was severe. "My dad had bad nightmares after the incident," Campbell said. He now warns others against buying e-scooters. "I would never get another e-scooter," he told PA. "It really affects you when it goes wrong. People around you as well."
Growing crisis in London
Campbell's case is far from isolated. London Fire Brigade reports an average of 18 similar incidents each month. Firefighters predict they will attend 200 e-bike and e-scooter fires by the end of 2025.
Commissioner Jonathan Smith spoke at Piccadilly Circus on Tuesday as the brigade showed a safety film. "We're now dealing with one of these types of fires every other day," he said. "We're nearly at 200 e-bike or e-scooter fires in London this year. Sadly, that includes two fires where two people were killed. So this is a real and present risk that we're wanting to highlight to Londoners."
Black Friday warning
As shoppers hunt for Black Friday deals, the fire brigade warned about the lack of regulation for e-vehicles on online marketplaces. High street retailers are more likely to stock products with batteries and chargers meeting UKCA or CE safety standards, the brigade said.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
