SYDNEY: Pakistani university student Haider Ali died after the e-bike he used to earn a living in Australia exploded in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Haider Ali, 21, was killed after the explosion, sparked by a lithium battery of an e-bike, led to the fire in his three-bedroom house at a sharehouse on Rowley Rd in Guildford, western Sydney.
Fire crews rushed to the scene at 5 am and contained the fire to one bedroom, however, Ali was unable to escape.
Firefighters rescued him from the blaze, but they were unable to revive him. Five other residents in the house at the time managed to escape and were treated for smoke inhalation.
Fire and Rescue NSW Assisting Commissioner Michael Morris revealed that this was the third lithium-ion battery fire in the past 24 hours. He warned about the dangers of these batteries, explaining that they can enter a “thermal runaway” state, causing explosions, intense heat, and toxic smoke.
Authorities advised people not to charge e-bikes while sleeping, to keep them away from exit pathways, and to ensure smoke alarms are installed. There was no indication that the Guildford home had a working smoke alarm.
Following the incident, a community leader has issued a strong warning to all Australians regarding the potential dangers of lithium batteries.
“A very strong message to all Australians, please do not use any sort of substandard bikes which use lithium charging… please stay away from these charging things”, President of the Pakistan Association of Australia Hamid Saroha said.
Bruce Mcpherson, a neighbour opposite the impacted house said neighbours saw him standing outside the home — used as a share house for students.
“I heard this almighty big bang, and I come out the back door in my bed attire, and there is just a great big plume of smoke pouring out the roof”, Mcpherson said.
