E-Mobility Fire Risk in Social Housing – What Actions Should We Be Taking Now?
Lithium-ion powered e-bikes, mobility scooters and converted devices are increasingly common across council and housing association stock. However, clear and consistent guidance on how to manage the associated fire risk has not kept pace.
Asset, compliance and building safety teams are under growing pressure to act, often without clear regulation, consistent benchmarks or certainty about what proportionate action looks like in practice.
In this expert-led webinar, Graeme Warnell, a recognised specialist in EV and lithium-ion fire risk, will help landlords cut through the confusion and focus on practical, defensible actions that can be justified both now and in the future.
The session will examine when internal charging arrangements begin to present unacceptable risk, why lithium-ion batteries require different thinking from traditional electrical fires, and which immediate measures genuinely reduce risk. It will also explore when internal mitigation reaches its limit, where external storage and charging becomes the logical next step, and how decisions are likely to be viewed by insurers, investigators and regulators following an incident.
This webinar is designed to support measured, evidence-based decision-making, helping housing providers avoid both over-reaction and inaction while ensuring policies and investments stand up to future scrutiny.
About the event
With the use of e-bikes, mobility scooters and other lithium-ion powered devices increasing across social housing, this session provides a clear, practical overview of what actions housing providers should be taking now.
Attendees will gain clarity on proportionate risk management, understand which immediate steps reduce exposure in real terms, and learn how to assess when escalation is justified based on evidence rather than assumption.
Date: Thursday 26th February 2026
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Hosted by metroSTOR, this one-hour session is aimed at councils and housing associations responsible for managing fire risk across occupied residential buildings.
Who should attend:
- Social landlords and housing managers
- Asset, compliance and building safety teams
- Local authority housing officers
- Fire safety and risk professionals
What you will gain:
- Clarity on when charging e-mobility devices inside flats becomes unsafe
- Insight into why lithium-ion fires require different thinking, not just additional controls
- Understanding of which immediate risk-reduction measures are effective, and which are not
- Guidance on when external storage and charging becomes the appropriate escalation
- Context on how decisions may be judged retrospectively by insurers and investigators
About the speakers:
Graeme Warnell
EV and Lithium-Ion Fire Risk Specialist
LinkedIn: Graeme Warnell
Graeme is a recognised specialist in electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery fire risk, advising organisations on proportionate, evidence-based approaches to risk management. His work focuses on fire behaviour, incident response and post-incident investigation, helping organisations understand how decisions will be scrutinised after an event and how to put defensible measures in place before one occurs.
