A devastating e-bike battery explosion triggered a fast-moving fire that tore through an Oregon home, dramatic video shows.
The blaze consumed the two-story Troutdale residence within minutes, prompting an urgent response from emergency crews Thursday night, Gresham Fire and Rescue said, according to KOIN.
Video from the scene shows the modest home engulfed in flames after a faulty e-bike battery exploded, fire officials confirmed.
Preston Williams, 15, told the local television station that he had been riding his e-bike before bringing it back home.
The teenager said he had recently repaired the bike and left its battery unplugged in the living room. He soon noticed an unusual odor inside the house—one of the warning signs of a failing battery.
“It popped the first time, and then I didn’t know if I should grab the battery and … see what would happen,” Williams said. He had smelled the battery as it began to emit smoke.
Moments later, the battery exploded in the center of the living room, sending the family into a panic.
Williams said he called 911 and waited outside for firefighters, while his mother ran upstairs to warn their new neighbors, Kelli Gasaway and her partner, Anthony.
Gasaway likened the blast to “a hand grenade going off underneath you.” She and Anthony quickly fled the home, where they had moved only a few months earlier.
“It was like by the time I got out, there was already smoke completely engulfed in our apartment … before the flames were all the way through upstairs,” she said.
All six tenants in the multifamily home escaped safely, but a beloved cat died in the fire.
“The timing-wise, like we could have been all asleep and it could have happened,” Williams said. “I’m super grateful that everyone was awake.”
