SPOKANE, Wash — A warehouse full of Lime bikes and scooters caught fire Sunday night. The exact cause is still under investigation.
About 150 bikes and scooters were destroyed, and it has many of you now asking: Are Lime scooters safe to ride on Spokane streets?
Spokane Valley Fire department spokesperson Julie Happy said yes, the scooters should be safe to ride.
Lime Spokesperson Alex Youn echoed this, saying, "there is no reason to think our scooters are not safe."
Lithium batteries, which power Lime scooters, explode when they heat up.
Fire investigators believe a thermal runaway of the lithium batteries contributed to the spread of the fire, meaning one battery ignited another and so on.
According to Happy, heat is the key to why riders should not be concerned with batteries exploding when they're on the street or in use.
"If you look at thermal runaway you really need that heat condition to ignite that battery," Happy said. "In the fire situation, that was the perfect situation for that to happen. But just sitting on the street or you riding it is not one of those things that would cause that thermal runaway."
Lime bike or scooter riders who notice something not working properly should report this.
Reports can be sent through the Lime app on your phone or by sending an email to customer service. Be sure to include which scooter or bike you rented and what part malfunctioned.