Before You Wrap It: A Lithium Battery Safety Checklist for Christmas Gifts

E-bikes, e-scooters, drones, ride-on toys and power banks will be under a lot of Christmas trees this year. Fire services see a predictable pattern after the holidays, and most of it is avoidable at the checkout.

Why fire services worry about December

Victorian fire and safety authorities report responding to lithium-ion battery fires roughly once a week across the state, and ahead of Christmas 2025 urged shoppers to choose trusted brands, check that power supplies carry the Regulatory Compliance Mark and confirm they are listed on the Electrical Equipment Safety System database (Geelong Independent, 2025).

Two years earlier, a fire safety trainer warned that poorly made Christmas purchases tend to start failing three to six months later, as Australia's consumer watchdog reported a sixfold rise in battery fire reports between 2021 and 2023 (Australian Associated Press, 2023). The ACCC has made e-micromobility devices and lithium-ion battery safety a product safety priority for 2026-27 (Maddocks, 2026).

Before you buy

• Buy from a retailer you can go back to, not an unknown marketplace seller.
• For e-bikes and e-scooters in NSW, check the certification marking now required before sale (NSW Government, n.d.).
• Look for the RCM mark on the charger.
• Avoid conversion kits bought online as a cheap shortcut to an e-bike (London Fire Brigade, 2024).
• Search the product name for any recall before you pay.

Before you wrap

• Don't charge it to full and hide it in a cupboard for weeks.
• Keep the charger and manual with the gift, so nobody reaches for a spare phone charger on Christmas morning.
• Don't store it in a hot car boot or shed while you hide it.

On Christmas Day

Do the first charge on a hard surface, in a room you are in, while you are awake, and never in a bedroom or living area. Show whoever is getting it the warning signs: smells, changes in colour or shape, heat, and popping or hissing.

If you are giving an e-bike or scooter, a 2 m x 2 m e-bike fire blanket or a battery containment bag makes a sensible extra. Browse the e-bike and e-scooter range or our kits.

General guidance only. Fire blankets and containment bags contain a fire and buy time; they do not extinguish thermal runaway. In any battery fire, get clear and call Triple Zero (000). Our extinguishers are certified to EN 3-7:2004+A1:2007 and are supplementary to your statutory fire safety equipment.