Model, 21, killed after e-bike battery caught fire in boyfriend’s flat

The family of a young model killed in a fire caused by an e-bike battery calls for tougher laws after an inquest into his death.

Sofia Duarte, 21 years old, died on January 1, 2023, when a flames raised by a lithium-ion battery torn in flats in Bermondsey, Londonwhere her boyfriend lived.

Sofia’s boyfriend and four other occupants managed to escape, but Sofia died at the scene.

The family of the Portuguese model is now called the British government to limit where electronic vehicles are stored.

Sofia, they said, could still be alive today if the bike wasn’t loaded at the entrance and only left at the apartments.

The inquest heard that two bikes – a manufactured electric bike and a converted ‘retro-fitted’ push bike with a battery pack – were found on the flats floor.

The fire is said to have been caused by an unbranded battery pack fitted to the converted bike which was still charging at the time of the fire.

Buying unregulated battery packs online carries “significant risks”, London Fire Brigade (LFB) officials told London’s Inner South Coroner’s Court.

They are often paired with separately purchased chargers that are incompatible with e-bikes.

The inquest heard that Ms Duarte and her boyfriend had both finished shifts behind the bar at a nightclub on New Year’s Eve and traveled to the latter’s flat.

While he was in bed, his apartments were suddenly rocked by a strong explosion around 4:50 p.m.

When Mrs. Duarte’s boyfriend woke up and opened the door to his room, the hallway was filled with black smoke.

He jumped from his bedroom window onto the roof of a shop below, encouraging his partner to follow.

But it is believed that Ms. Duarte, who will now be 23, instead tried to escape through the entrance and was found dead in the hallway of the second floor of the building.

A report by LFB Officer Stephen Elliott found that the fire broke out on the ground floor, where two electric bicycles were propped up against a wall.

Reading from the document, Assistant Coroner Xavier Mooyaart said: “The cause of the fire was attributed to a battery failure from a retrofitted e-bike. Melting of the battery casing shows that the batteries were in a high state of charge.

“This fire appears to have started due to the internal failure of the lithium-ion cells in the battery. [Sofia’s] jumped out of the bottom window and encouraged him to do the same – but he tried to get out another way.

“Two electric bikes were originally located in the ground floor hallway, and are said to be leaning against a wall. One of these bikes was manufactured, the other was retrofitted.

LFB recently warned that the frequency of e-bike fires has increased in recent years, following another flat fire in Whitechapel, east London.

Mr Elliott concluded that the battery pack was the source of the fire, but added that it was not possible to say the exact reason the pack had caught fire – as it was not compatible with the charger used – because it was “unbranded.”

Mr Mooyaart recorded a finding of accidental death, adding that there was “insufficient evidence” of what caused the battery to catch fire to prepare a Future Death Prevention Report (PFDR) on the battery.

Coroners can write special reports known as PFDRs if they feel that an investigation shows that more people may have died in similar circumstances. The report is then sent to the relevant public officials or companies.

Mr Mooyaart said: “This happy young woman was killed in a house fire in which she had no part.[The fire] it was born from a retrofitted electric bicycle battery that was charging in the entrance hall [to the flats]. She could not escape.

“A battery fire caused his death, but we don’t know if it was charged incorrectly, if the cells malfunctioned… In this investigation, the evidence is insufficient to write a PFDR.”

Alda Simoes, a family friend of Ms. Duarte who helped the girl’s mother, Maria Frasquilho Macarro, in translating the investigation, asked the coroner to consider writing a PFDR encouraging parliamentarians to consider changing the law of e-bikes.

“One of the things we’re asking is for the government to change where people load their bikes. It was the only exit from the house. There was no way to escape,” said the 46-year-old.

“This, for me, should be presented to the government as an avoidable death. The government should put some rules for storage … then Sofia could survive.

“There are more cases like this, of people trapped inside. This is a matter of public safety, not a political matter. We cannot do it alone.

“People like you can take it further.”

After hearing Ms Simoes’ heartfelt plea, Mr Mooyaart said he would review the evidence and decide whether a report was necessary.

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