Leigh: Fire crews respond to electric scooter fire

Fire crews from Leigh and Rayleigh Weir attended the incident in Shannon Close, Leigh-on-Sea, after smoke alarms alerted the resident to a fire.

The incident happened just after 10pm on Saturday.

Upon arrival, firefighters reported the fire was in a bedroom and the flat was heavily smoke-logged.

Oliver Whiting, temporary crew manager at Leigh Fire Station said the fire was caused by an electric scooter that was charging in the bedroom.

He said: “Thankfully there were working smoke alarms in the flat and when the resident heard them going off he did the right thing by immediately getting out, staying out and calling 999. 

"Although we would always prefer people not to charge electrical items out of sight, the fact the resident was not charging the scooter in an escape route was the right thing to do.

"The fire spread quickly, so if it had been between him and his escape route it could have been a very different story."

The flat suffered significant fire and smoke damage, however, the rest of the building is unharmed thanks to the fire doors.