FOI release

Vape-Related Fire Incidents at Disposal Sites

Case reference FOI2026/00159

Received 10 February 2026

Published 5 March 2026

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request information held by your Fire and Rescue Service relating to incidents of fire attended by your service at waste disposal or recycling facilities, where the reported or suspected ignition source was the improper disposal of vaping devices (e.g. vapes or e-cigarettes containing lithium-ion batteries). Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2021 to the most recent date available: 1. The total number of confirmed or suspected vape-related fire incidents attended by your service at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and any other waste disposal, recycling, or waste transfer facilities 2. A year-by-year breakdown of the above. For clarity: * “Vape” includes disposable and rechargeable e-cigarette devices, whether sold legally or otherwise, that contain lithium-ion batteries. * “Vape-related fire incidents” include confirmed fires and incidents where a fire or ignition was suspected to have been caused by a vape or its battery during or following disposal. Please provide the information in an electronic format where possible (for example, Excel, CSV, or PDF).

Response

Please see the response in the link below.

Documents

• FOIA response for disclosure log - FOI2026_00159.pdf (72.5 KB)

This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.