House fire - Orton Goldhay - Peterborough

03/09/2023 4.36PM

At 4.36pm on Sunday 3 September crews Stanground, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade and Sawtry along with the North Roaming Fire Engine and Turntable Ladder were called to a house fire on Collingham in Orton Goldhay.

Firefighters arrived to find a fire in a two-storey house, which was spreading to the roof. Wearing breathing apparatus firefighters used hose reels to extinguish the fire before returning to their stations by 8.16pm.

An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.

 

Update - Tuesday September 5

The investigation has concluded the cause of the fire was accidental. 

A fire service spokesman said: “The fire was caused by a battery in an e-bike overheating, due to an incorrect charger being used to recharge it.

“The occupant of the property had purchased what they thought was a suitable charger to use for the e-bike, however the voltage was too high, so was supplying more power to the battery than it needed. This resulted in the battery overcharging, creating excess heat, leading to thermal runaway causing the fire to start. The bike itself did have overcharge protection, like most devices of this type, however this will only work with the correct charger, which is why it failed in this instance.

“This is obviously a terrible situation for the victims of this fire, as the damage to the home is significant. They have however had a fortunate escape. Fires involving batteries like this spread through a property very quickly, causing tragic consequences. Even having smoke alarms to alert residents to a fire are not always life-saving, as overheated batteries can explode releasing harmful vapours and allowing fire spread too quickly.

“There are things residents can do to avoid having a fire like this. The most important thing is to make sure you use the correct charger for a device. It can be very confusing to find the right input and voltage, and the product descriptions don’t always help. However it is very important to check the voltage a device can take, as well as making sure the charger is fully compliant with UK specifications. More information about this can be found in the Take Charge and Be Safe section of our website.”