A 29-year-old man remains in hospital today after an electric bike battery ‘exploded’ in a terrace house in Stoke-on-Trent.
Emergency services descended on Shelton’s Wellesley Street to reports of a blaze at a property. As reported by StokeonTrentLive the route was blocked while two out of four casualties at the house were taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital. Now Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which sent three engines to the incident, has confirmed the blaze had been caused by the ‘explosion of a lithium-ion battery for an electric bike’.
The 29-year-old man remains in hospital in a stable condition after suffering burns and smoke inhalation. Firefighters say another man suffered smoke inhalation with a third found with ‘minor injuries’ while a fourth was uninjured.
During the height of the incident, witnesses say the road was shut off with fire engines, ambulances and police cars all in attendance.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to a house fire on Wellesley Street just after 10 pm on Monday. Two crews from Hanley and one from Newcastle-under-Lyme attended and put the fire out quickly. It was caused by the explosion of a lithium-ion battery for an electric bike.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service sent two ambulances and a paramedic officer to the scene.
An ambulance service spokeswoman said: “Upon arrival, we found four men. The first two were assessed and had sustained potentially serious injuries. They received treatment at the scene before being conveyed to the Royal Stoke University Hospital for further assessment. The second two men did not require assessment from ambulance staff and received self-care advice before being discharged at the scene.”
