Stop fires. Save lives.
“I knew the battery was risky, but if I didn’t deliver faster, I wouldn’t make rent.” E-Bike rider in Newham
Battery fires are rising sharply. In London, the London Fire Brigade is now responding to an e-bike or e-scooter fire roughly every 48 hours. The impact is catastrophic; a corridor goes black in seconds. In Newham, this is a persistent and urgent community safety and housing issue.
Why we took action
Case Study:
In Newham, we’ve seen firsthand how intersecting risks, crowded private rented homes, unsafe kits sold online, limited safe-charging options, and a cost-of-living context all translate into real harm for courier riders in Newham. When fires occurred, we stepped in to help them access emergency accommodation, provided immediate food and essential provisions, assisted in replacing lost documents, and liaised with landlords, universities and local services to restore safety and stability. We stayed in touch afterwards, providing trauma-informed care and mental wellbeing support, ensuring people could continue studying and working while rebuilding their lives. This direct experience is why we led this project. The risk was not abstract; it was already within our community. The case study below reflects the conditions we have encountered and how they shaped the model we built.
In October 2022, four fire engines attended a fire in Manor Park, E12, in the early hours. The incident occurred at a two-storey end-of-terrace house with a loft conversion, which housed ten international students. Fire originated around an electric bike in the communal stairs area. Residents smelt burning, and the smoke accumulated in the hallway, blocking the front exit. Seven residents escaped by kicking out windows, and two residents were rescued from the bay window canopy by firefighters using a ladder. This resulted in four adult males being injured, three of whom were hospitalised due to smoke inhalation and escape injuries. Ten residents required rehousing. A four-gang extension lead and charger transformer were found and sampled, and although hard-wired smoke detectors were found to have been installed, some had been removed from bedrooms.
This is the environment our model was built to respond to. Delivery riders are under extreme economic strain. Many are international students or their dependents. They are under pressure to deliver faster, work longer, and reduce costs, which can lead to risk-taking behaviours, such as buying cheaper, unsafe batteries or modifying bikes illegally. They purchase cheaper, unsafe batteries or modify bikes to meet delivery targets to pay their bills.
Charging often happens indoors, overnight, in HMOs and shared private
rented accommodation. This creates unsafe conditions, including:
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blocked escape routes
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unregulated conversion kits
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cheap chargers bought online
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limited knowledge of risk
This combination made a local intervention urgent.
This project was co-led by:
Newham Community Project
The London Borough of Newham
Supported by the London Fire Brigade.
Our approach was simple: peer-led behaviour change, anchored in trust.
We:
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trained rider ambassadors to shift norms inside courier networks
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delivered practical safety workshops in rider hotspots and community venues
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embedded safety information into university induction cycles
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circulated over 5,000 #ChargeSafe guidance leaflets
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tested a scalable community model that can be adapted in other high-risk boroughs
What we designed and delivered
Our Action Research Methodology
This work followed an action research cycle. We observed, tested, adapted, and re-tested.
Data collection drew on:
workshop reflections
rider focus groups
ambassador field notes
pre and post-workshop evaluation
Iterative learning cycles guided the model. When riders told us fear of losing income discouraged safe charging, we shifted to peer communication through rider WhatsApp networks, not only formal sessions.
We saw:
increased use of legitimate chargers
faster spread of safety messages inside rider communities
more riders reporting unsafe batteries
observable behaviour shift (monitored charging adopted to avoid fires)
This is action research in practice: learning emerging through cycles of action, reflection, and adaptation.
What we learned
Peer influence is faster than top-down messaging. Riders are not reckless; they are economically constrained. When people they related to and reflected offered credible, practical safety guidance, they changed their behaviour quickly.
Universities emerged as critical gateways. Many international students or their dependents commit to courier jobs to meet their financial obligations. Safety messages embedded in induction cycles created ongoing prevention.
Where this sits nationally
Greater Manchester has shown that a Delivery Safety Charter is possible; Newham Community Project has demonstrated how to build the community model under it, in practice.
London does not need a second charter. It needs to apply the Greater Manchester Delivery Safety Charter approach in London and resource boroughs to implement it using Newham’s rider-led model.
Together: a complete national solution.
Who we reached
Next steps (systems action)
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Government: resource enforcement and regulate unsafe kits and illegal modifications
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Mayor of London / TfL: apply the Greater Manchester Delivery Safety Charter approach in London and support borough replication
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Delivery platforms: require compliant batteries and chargers during onboarding
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Local authorities & universities: embed this model locally and in student induction cycles.
Policy Recommendations
From our findings, we recommend the following national and city-level actions:
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Legislate and enforce nationally on unsafe kits and illegal modifications
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Apply the Greater Manchester Delivery Safety Charter approach in London (rather than creating a new charter)
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Resource the community-led model that Newham Community Project has already proven to work on the ground
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Expand affordable access routes to legally compliant e-bikes
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Mandate platform compliance with battery safety and #ChargeSafe messaging
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Replicate the Newham ambassador-led model across other high-risk areas
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Improve national data to distinguish bicycles from e-bikes and illegal modifications
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Continue proactive joint enforcement with the police and Trading Standards
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Embed lithium-ion battery risk into Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) and housing inspections
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Pilot safe battery-exchange schemes for riders using unsafe equipment.
Read the full final report
This action research was led by Rozina Iqbal, Director of Operations at the Newham Community Project, working in partnership with Helen Masterson, Head of Private Sector Housing Standards at the London Borough of Newham, and with technical support from the London Fire Brigade.
Contact
For partnerships, replication support, or media enquiries:
rozina.i@newhamcommunityproject.org
07535652755
