On average, thousands of fires are caused by electric bicycles every month

　　On average, thousands of fires are caused by electric bicycles every month

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 9 -

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter

　　Going upstairs illegally, charging with flying cables, illegally refitting, "overdue service"... The seemingly convenient and economical electric bicycles actually hide a variety of hidden fire hazards. Since the beginning of this year, there have been more than 10,000 electric bicycle fires nationwide and caused casualties.

On average, thousands of fire accidents occur every month, reflecting the urgency, severity and complexity of electric bicycle fire safety management.

　　How to prevent electric bicycles from being "burned"?

This reporter conducted an investigation.

Frequent electric bicycle fire accidents

　　On May 10, an electric car in an elevator in a residential area in Chenghua District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province instantly exploded, causing injuries to many people, including a baby.

　　Not long ago, a fire accident in Beijing once again caused the whole society to pay attention to the fire safety of electric bicycles.

In the early morning of September 20, a tenant in a community in Tongzhou District, Beijing, brought electric bicycle batteries indoors for charging and caused a fire, killing 5 people. The lesson was very painful.

　　And just the day before yesterday, there was another accident in Hefei that caused a fire when charging an electric bicycle at home.

On the evening of November 7, the electric bicycles of residents in a community in Hefei burned while charging in the house, causing a fire.

Fortunately, the firefighters put out the fire in time and did not cause major losses or casualties.

　　As the number of electric bicycles continues to rise, related fire and explosion accidents have occurred frequently.

As far as Jinan, Shandong is concerned, as of September 2, more than 3 million electric bicycles have been listed in Jinan. This year, the city has received police and handled 51 electric bicycle fires, of which 28 were caused by charging, and 17 were spontaneously ignited during use. rise.

　　In Zhejiang, there are about 25 million registered electric bicycles.

According to the statistics of the local fire department, there were 1,861 fire safety accidents caused by electric bicycles in Zhejiang in the past three years.

　　Looking at the whole country, in recent years, my country’s annual sales of electric bicycles have exceeded 30 million, and the number of social ownership has exceeded 300 million.

According to data from the Fire and Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management, there have been more than 10,000 electric bicycle fires across the country and caused casualties this year, showing that there are still many difficulties and pain points in the fire safety management of electric bicycles.

There are many hidden fire hazards in all links of production and sales

　　Industry insiders pointed out that behind the repeated fire accidents of electric bicycles, there are many hidden dangers such as unqualified product technology, proliferation of illegal modifications, and irregular charging.

　　——The quality of the electric bicycle itself is not up to standard or exceeds the standard.

In order to save costs, some manufacturers lower the standard without authorization, produce unqualified chargers, fail to select the corresponding wires as required, and fail to install the protection device correctly, and the assembly process is unreasonable, which may easily lead to fire safety accidents.

　　——The sales market provides electric bicycle battery modification business.

In order to meet the needs of some users, some informal manufacturers or individuals will modify the battery privately, and in order to save costs, the battery protection frame is removed, which reduces the battery's collision resistance and increases safety risks.

　　The reporter randomly visited several electric bicycle shops on the streets of Hangzhou.

"The enlarged battery is actually a bigger time bomb." The technical expert of the Hangzhou Fire Rescue Detachment said that these privately modified batteries are difficult to guarantee in the assembly process and battery cell selection in order to reduce the cost, and the probability of accidents is also a significant factor. Doubled.

　　——The charging of electric bicycles is not standardized.

At present, the parking and charging of electric bicycles has always been a pain point in governance.

The reporter saw in many communities in Hangzhou that many owners, in order to facilitate charging, ride their electric bicycles directly to their door through the elevator to charge, or take the battery home to charge, which actually poses a great safety risk.

　　"Batteries will generate a lot of heat during the charging process. If the internal temperature continues to rise or the temperature between the cells is uneven, there will be a risk of overheating and burning and explosion." said Wu Yi, a technician from a battery manufacturer in Zhejiang.

Preventing from "burning" still requires teamwork

　　In response to some of the above-mentioned problems, various localities and departments have also successively explored technical means to manage electric bicycle fire safety hazards.

　　The Zhejiang system integrates data from multiple parties such as supervision departments, market entities, product quality, etc., to build a digital system for electric bicycle management, "Zhejiang e-line online".

Starting from the seven links of production, sales, registration, cycling, charging and stopping, maintenance, and recovery, the comprehensive management process reengineering, management restructuring and system reshaping of the electric bicycle full life cycle are realized.

In some communities in Weifang City, Shandong, once the camera in the elevator recognizes that an electric bicycle has entered, it will automatically trigger a flashing light and give a voice prompt. At the same time, the elevator will temporarily stop running.

　　To eliminate the fire hazards of electric bicycles, the electric bicycle industry also urgently needs to be upgraded.

Relevant experts said that it is necessary to continue to promote the technological innovation of electric bicycles and form safety standards.

Manufacturers should strictly strengthen quality control, strengthen safety testing for electric bicycle components, especially electrical components, limit the maximum current of the line, and increase short-circuit protection for chargers.

　　At the same time, the "High-rise Civil Building Fire Safety Management Regulations" that came into effect on August 1, 2021 clearly stipulate that it is prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles in the public halls, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings.

　　The new regulations have been implemented for 3 months, but the reporter's investigation found that many places have not implemented the management regulations in place, and the phenomenon of electric bicycles entering the house and going upstairs is still common.

　　“In the next step, we will continue to strengthen source control and comprehensive governance with relevant departments, promote the construction of more parking and charging places, follow up and introduce fire safety standards for these places, promote the implementation of preferential policies for fixed charging places, and regulate the use of electric power for public safety. Bicycles provide better protection." said Qiong Se, director of the Fire and Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management, "At the same time, we should guide property management units to strengthen inspections and stop violations of laws and regulations in a timely manner." (Reporters Liu Yang, Liu Xiacun, Tang Tao, Wang Kai)