E-Bike and Lithium-Ion Battery Fires: A 5-Year Federal Incident Data Analysis (2019–2023)
Analysis of CPSC's own micromobility incident dataset — 227 documented e-bike, e-scooter, and hoverboard battery fire incidents, and what the data shows about when and why they happen.
Key Findings
Note on scope: this report covers CPSC-regulated consumer micromobility products (e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards, e-unicycles, e-skateboards) and is not DOT-classified hazardous materials data. It is included in this section because these fires present hazmat-like operational risks to responders — thermal runaway, toxic off-gassing, and reignition risk — even though the products themselves are not transport-regulated hazmat.
Between 2019 and 2023, CPSC documented 227 unique incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in micromobility products, resulting in 39 deaths and 181 injuries. Incident volume nearly doubled over this window, and reported deaths rose from zero in 2019 to 20 in 2023.
Source: CPSC's own incident data (In-Depth Investigations, NEISS emergency room sampling, and news reports), compiled in the Commission's 2025 proposed rulemaking on lithium-ion batteries in micromobility products. CPSC notes that 2022–2023 reporting was still being finalized as of its data pull date, so recent-year figures may be revised upward in later CPSC updates.
Methodology
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), incident data compiled for its proposed rule on lithium-ion battery safety standards for micromobility products (eBikes, eScooters, self-balancing scooters/hoverboards, eSkateboards, eUnicycles).
CPSC identified incidents through 212 in-depth field investigations, 12 additional cases from NEISS (a statistically sampled emergency-room injury surveillance system), and 3 news reports, covering January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2023, as documented in CPSC's records as of November 1, 2024.
Limitation: CPSC itself notes that reporting for 2022–2023 was ongoing at the time of its data pull, meaning incident and fatality counts for those years may be revised upward as additional reports are processed.
Headline Numbers (2019–2023)
Yearly Trend
By Product Type (2019–2023 totals)
Why Fires Start — Hazard Pattern Breakdown
Reading the Data With Care
Charging is the single largest hazard pattern by volume (53% of all incidents), which lines up with basic prevention guidance: charge on a hard, non-combustible surface, away from exits, and never overnight unattended if avoidable.
Homemade or self-assembled battery packs are a small share of total incidents (4 of 227) but carry a disproportionately high fatality rate within that category — 3 of the 4 incidents involved a death. This is directional, not a statistically robust rate given the small sample, but it lines up with the general engineering concern around unregulated cell matching and missing battery management systems.
CPSC's own breakdown by victim age found that children under 5 and adults 65+ were overrepresented among fatalities relative to their share of the general population — a pattern relevant for home fire safety messaging and public education efforts.
Recall History (2016–2024)
Official Sources
Official sources are linked for verification. This page is a firefighter training reference, not legal, medical, or product endorsement advice.