The emergency services evacuated the inhabitants of eight apartments in The Hague on Monday evening when the battery of an electric fatbike caught fire during recharging.

The fire started at 10 pm and was already so advanced that some of the inhabitants had to be rescued from their balconies. Three people were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The apartment where the fire broke out is beyond salvaging, the fire service said, and the inhabitants of the other apartments must also wait until their homes are declared safe.

Batteries used in electric vehicles, power tools, tablets, phones and games are an increasing source of house fires, according to figures from the insurers association VvV.

Technical faults or damage to the battery can cause it to overheat, leading to a phenomenon called “thermal runaway” and an intense fire that can be difficult to control.

In 2023, batteries were responsible for 5% of all home fires, up from 3% in 2022, the VvV said. No figures are available yet for 2024 or this year.

Some 48% of all new bikes sold in the Netherlands in 2024 were electric.