E-Bike fire leaves Pueblo West family without home, bike shops give safety tips on how to buy

PUEBLO WEST, Colo. (KRDO) - A family in Pueblo West is now living in a camper in their backyard after an electronic bike caught on fire and spread to their whole house.

The homeowner, Matthew Anderson, says that he woke up a few hours after plugging in his e-bike to charge the night of September 30th, something he's done many times before.

Anderson explained he had bought a kit online to turn his normal bicycle into an electric one about 2 years ago, and hadn't had any issues during that time.

"Plugged it in that evening and woke up to a blast. I thought a bomb went off or I don't know what happened."

Anderson said he quickly moved to put out the blaze with his garden hose, but that only made the electrical fire grow larger.

From there, flames engulfed his Pueblo West home he's owned for 10 years since moving from Kansas with his wife.

Now he's advising other's to not make the same mistake he did:

"Don't charge it in your house or your garage because you're going to end up like this."

However, just a few miles away Tim McDonald, the owner of Prairie's Range Cycles explains that most battery fires typically stem from low quality, cheaper batteries that are bought online.

"You could plug [the battery] in on the bikes, or you could take the battery out and have it on a storage unit in the garage -- or put it inside the house -- it just needs to be in a dry place that's not going to have moisture." said McDonald.

He adds that with e-bike sales on the rise, buyers should stick with known brands sold in stores, saying they have built-in safety measures that stop them from overcharging, and overheating -- which leads to those sparks, or flames.

"[Those known brands] are more expensive, but you're getting higher quality bikes that are going to last longer and be able to be worked on with warranties." said McDonald.

The shop owner also explained that most bike shops don't work on batteries or bikes that were purchased online, due to the risk of the fire-hazard.

A GoFundMe has been started to help the Andersons out.