Fire chiefs have issued a warning after an e-scooter was blamed for a devastating fire that ripped through a row of seven houses before firefighters were able to bring it under control.
Entire families were forced to flee their homes late at night on Wednesday after the blaze – which started in a three-storey property – tore through the street in Gosport, Hampshire.
It is believed the fire was caused by an e-scooter battery and emergency services have issued a warning on the safe charging and storing of the electric vehicles.
Nine adults and four children had to be evacuated from one of the houses after the fire broke out on the residential road at around 9.40pm on Wednesday.
Fire crews scrambled to the scene and it took ten fire engines, an aerial ladder platform and specialist vehicles with more than 60 firefighters working to control the fire.
‘It was just an inferno and it happened so quickly and it just spread,’ neighbour Fiona Taylor told ITV Meridian.
‘The air was full of smoke, it was acrid, it hit the back of your throat, it was awful.’
‘It was harrowing and horrific to watch because you knew your neighbours were watching their houses go up one by one.’
The fire spread through seven out of the eight houses in this terrace. Most of the roofs have collapsed and the structure is now so dangerous that many families cannot return to their homes.
Jenna Robinson, a friend of the young mother who lives in the house where the fire started, has launched a fundraiser to help those affected.
‘She’s lost everything. Obviously all the bedrooms have been burned, so clothes, memories. She only wanted to get one box out which was the memory box but hasn’t been able to,’ said Ms Robinson.
A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘The initial reports and the preliminary fire investigation has found that an e-scooter is the most likely cause of the fire.
‘The main danger occurs when e-bikes and e-scooters are left on charge and unattended in homes or in communal areas such as hallways and stairwells.
‘Charging lithium batteries indoors increases the fire risk, especially if charged overnight when occupants are sleeping. ‘
HIWFRS station manager, Lacey Plumbley, added: ‘E-bikes and e-scooters with lithium-ion batteries can catch fire quickly and with little warning,’ she said.
‘Thankfully everyone managed to evacuate the properties safely, but a number of families have seen their homes severely damaged as a result of this fire.
‘We are urging people to keep an eye on their e-scooter and e-bikes when they are charging them and to think carefully about where they store them.
‘Ideally they should be stored outside, but if they have to be stored inside avoid blocking emergency escape routes.’