A battery fire has destroyed a NSW e-bike business, with about $500,000 in bikes lost

A house fire believed to have started among stored e-bikes and batteries has destroyed a home and the e-bike business run from it at South Murwillumbah, on the NSW far north coast. Fire and Rescue NSW crews were called to Railway Street just after 3am on Monday 31 August. Around 60 e-bikes and batteries were stored in the garage where the fire is believed to have begun, and it took firefighters more than three hours to bring the blaze under control and stop it spreading to neighbouring properties. The house partially collapsed. One resident was taken to hospital, and the family lost their dogs in the fire.

All four occupants got out, and Fire and Rescue NSW credits a working smoke alarm: it woke one resident, who then alerted the other three in time to escape. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.

A business as well as a home

The property, near the start of the Tweed Valley Rail Trail, housed Valley E-bike, a small business owner Mick Parkhill ran with his partner. He told the ABC the family had roughly 70 bikes on site and estimated at least $500,000 worth of stock had been lost, along with the house itself, a renovated flood buyback home that was scheduled to be raised next month.

The detail that will stay with many readers: Parkhill had built a separate storage area specifically for the lithium ion batteries, but the batteries had not been moved into it that night. He told the ABC he put the lapse down to complacency and exhaustion after several big days. He tried to fight the fire with a fire blanket and crawled out on his hands and knees under intense smoke.

What Fire and Rescue NSW wants e-bike owners to do

• Buy e-bikes, batteries and chargers from reputable suppliers that meet Australian standards, and only charge with the charger supplied with or recommended for the device
• Where possible, charge e-bikes outside the home, on a hard surface, away from anything combustible, and never in a spot that could block your escape route
• Never charge while you are asleep, and disconnect the battery once it is fully charged
• Stop using any battery that smells strong, runs hot, swells, changes colour or makes unusual sounds
• Remember lithium ion batteries can reignite after a fire has been put out, and never dispose of them in household garbage
• Keep working smoke alarms near where you charge, and have a home escape plan. In this fire, the smoke alarm is the reason four people got out