BURST
A fire inside a Surrey e-bike shop on Saturday evening proved difficult to douse as the lithium batteries inside continued to flare up through the night.
Firefighters were called to EV Revolution bike shop in the 13900-block of 104th Avenue in the Whalley neighbourhood at about 7 p.m.
Mike McNamara, assistant chief of operations for the Surrey Fire Service, said the shop was unoccupied when something ignited inside and began smouldering.
The fire grew and became hard to contain as the many lithium batteries inside started to burn, causing what firefighters refer to as a “thermal runaway,” said McNamara. The fire got into the ceiling and crews had to get out for their own safety and attack it from the outside.
Twelve fire trucks and 36 personnel were called to combat the blaze, which wasn’t fully contained until about 1 a.m. Sunday. The store was completely gutted and two neighbouring businesses had damage, he said.
McNamara said it’s too early to say whether the bike batteries were the source of the blaze, or if they were collateral damage. A fire inspector was headed to the scene late Sunday morning to investigate the cause.
No one was injured, but one firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.
E-bikes have caused several fires in the region in recent years, some in single-room occupancy hotels in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.