Electric vehicle caught fire while charging
A 48-year-old leather merchant escaped unhurt after his electric scooter caught fire in the veranda of his house in Vaniyambadi town in Tirupattur on Tuesday.
Police said that B. Shabir Ahmed, a leather merchant, purchased a new e-bike a few months ago. After completing routine service of the vehicle, Ahmed returned on his e-bike to his house. He then plugged in the bike for charging at the veranda of his house. After some time, Ahmed noticed smoke emanating from the bike and a fire broke out.
Immediately, fire engulfed the entire vehicle and spread to adjacent two regular two-wheelers. Residents and neighbours tried to douse the fire but they were unable to do it. They alerted Vaniyambadi Town police and firefighters, who after nearly half an hour doused the fire.
Police said that an electrical short circuit might be the reason for the incident. They also said that charging the vehicle for too long could have caused the fire as the vehicle had just returned from complete overhauling done in the service centre.
The police said this was not the first time that electric scooters had caught fire. In February 2023, an electric scooter parked at the veranda of a house in Vaniyambadi town near Tirupattur caught fire. The vehicle was left for charging the previous night before the owner of the vehicle S. Ihsanuallh went to sleep. The fire gutted his bike and the meter box.
In March, 2022, a 49-year-old man and his daughter died of suffocation after his new e-bike went up in flames in front of his house on Balaraman Street at Chinna Allapuram near Old Town in Vellore.
Published – March 25, 2025 11:26 pm IST
