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'We just heard a bang' - woman warns of e-scooter dangers after apartment fire

The family are warning others about the dangers of e-scooters after their apartment went on fire last month
The family are warning others about the dangers of e-scooters after their apartment went on fire last month

For Lainey Cameron and her family, the last few weeks have been anxious ones, brought on by a traumatic event.

On the morning of 21 November last, Ms Cameron was in her bedroom in her Loughlinstown apartment with her 18-month-old daughter.

Her mother Lorraine was also in the apartment, as the family were getting ready to go to a funeral.

"We just heard a bang,'’ Ms Cameron said.

'‘We just heard her scream, ‘There's a fire. There's a fire. Get out’," she added.

When Ms Cameron got to her mother, she was on the floor on fire.

She said: "You could see her socks were all singed and smoking, her dressing gown was burnt, her hair was singed and you could see that she was very red.

"So, at that point, she basically just said to me, ‘get everyone out’."

Ms Cameron then got her brother and her daughter out, before returning for her mother.

"I went back to my mum, and that's when I saw the extent of the burns, and I knew she needed an ambulance," she recalled.

Ms Cameron realised the intensity of the blaze when they were safely out of the apartment block and as the fire brigade were on the scene.

She explained: "Her whole room was engulfed in flames; the window was blowing out.

"You could see the flames were all up on the ceiling.

"All the floorboards were burned, all the walls, the electrics all gone."

Ms Cameron has said she is in no doubt that the cause of the fire was her mother’s e-scooter, which was in her bedroom.

She said the e-scooter was bought from a reputable dealer in Dublin around 18 months ago and cost around €1,500.

Ms Cameron said she is '100%' sure that the e-scooter was the cause of the blaze

"My mum has said that she was sitting on the end of her bed and next thing you know, the scooter just started smoking," she said.

"When she saw the smoke, she said she just left. She knew to leave. As she got to her door, it started sparking, and then just blew up," she added.

Ms Cameron said this is when her mother "caught fire", adding that her mother "dropped and rolled to put the fire out".

Ms Cameron said she is "100%" sure that the e-scooter was the cause of the blaze.

"It exploded. It wasn't on charge, it wasn't damaged. It was a year, maybe a year and a half old at most," she said.

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In the circumstances, Ms Cameron said her family were lucky that it happened in the morning while everyone in the home was awake.

"If this situation happened at night, I don't think she would have got out," she said.

"Never in a million years, would we think something like this would happen."

Ms Cameron said she is speaking out to raise awareness of the dangers of e-scooters.

Her warning follows moves by the National Transport Authority earlier this year, banning e-scooters on public transport over fears that the batteries used in them could catch fire.

'Low probability, high impact event'

For its part, Dublin Fire Brigade said it has attended a "number" of e-scooter fires but do not have exact figures.

They say given the prevalence of e-scooters, the number of fire incidents have been "relatively small".

"As we’ve seen the amount of e-scooters increase year-on-year, we have attended a number of fires where witnesses have said that the initial source of ignition has been an e-scooter, and some of these have been on charge and some have not been on charge," said Dublin Fire Brigade Station Officer Darren O'Connor.

"These incidents are what we call a low probability, high impact event," Mr O’Connor said.

He said: "If we take the amount of e-scooters in use today, we've seen a relatively small amount of incidents involving e-scooters.

"However, when these e-scooters do take hold, they develop very, very rapidly and intensely, and this has led to personal injury."

Mr O'Connor said the fire brigade's best advice to users "will be to have the unit serviced if the performance changes, if you notice overheating on the battery, or difference in the length of time it takes to charge".

The station officer also urged that e-scooters be stored outside where possible and should be charged outside.

The injuries Lorraine Cameron sustained were serious and her path to a full recovery will be a long one, her daughter stressed.

Lorraine spent 13 days on a ventilator and is now out of the ICU. She is currently in the burns ward of St James’s Hospital.

The apartment that the Camerons were privately renting is now out of bounds

"They say that she's going to make a full recovery. She’s got her sight, she's going to talk again, and she's going to walk again. But, it's going to be extensive physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and just all round work for her to get back to where she needs to be," Ms Cameron said.

She added it will take a year for Lorraine to fully recover from her injuries.

"She has third degree burns from her knees down on both legs. She has third degree burns on her left palm all the way up to her elbow on her forearm. She has some burns to her stomach, her hips, lower back, and then her face was burnt," she explained.

However, while Lorraine’s discharge from hospital will be welcome, there are additional worries as the apartment that the Camerons were privately renting is now out of bounds due to the extent of the fire damage.

"My goal now is just to find us at an apartment where we can all be together, back as a family. Me and my brother can help her with her journey and getting back to what she was before," Ms Cameron said.

That search for a new home though is proving difficult.

Ms Cameron is currently staying with relatives, but space is at a premium with six adults, two children and two dogs living in the house.

"She's going to want to be surrounded by her family. It's going to be a tough road, physically and mentally," she said.

"I'm just terrified that we're going to be separated, because we haven't got a place yet," she added.