A fire caused by a lithium-ion battery from an electric scooter led to the deaths of a mother and her three children in Bootle last week, authorities have confirmed. The victims—Elisha Brabin, 36, and her children Leo, 16, Ellis, eight, and Prudence, seven—were found by firefighters in an upstairs bedroom after the blaze broke out around 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) initially identified a lithium-ion battery as the source of the fire and later clarified that the battery belonged to an e-scooter, although it was not inside the vehicle when the fire started. Investigators believe the battery was charging at the time of the incident.

In addition to the fatalities, a fifth person was hospitalized with burn injuries sustained in the fire. Kev Johnson, a representative of MFRS, emphasized the dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries, noting that they were responsible for the blaze. He further revealed that between April 2023 and August, Merseyside recorded approximately 150 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries, resulting in five deaths. The incident underscores growing concerns about the fire risks posed by such batteries in domestic settings.