A person has been critically injured after an electric scooter exploded in an inner-city apartment building in Wellington.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) said emergency services swarmed to a fire in a high-rise apartment building on Tory Street in Wellington at around 5:30pm on Saturday.
When fire crews arrived at the scene, they found a fire in an apartment on the first floor caused when an electric scooter being charged inside the apartment exploded, according to incident controller Mike Dombroski.
Two sprinklers were activated and crews used hoses connected to the apartment water system to extinguish the fire," Dombroski said.
"Wellington Free Ambulance say they have transported one person in a critical condition to hospital."
Following the explosion, FENZ warned Kiwis to take care charging lithium-ion batteries.
"Anybody using these batteries for any reason, please take care as they are a fire risk when not stored, charged, used or disposed of correctly," Dombroski said.
"Only use chargers that are supplied with the device, don't charge them on or near flammable surfaces, and avoid leaving lithium-ion batteries or devices charging for prolonged periods of time."
