E-bike safety fears surge as cause of devastating Byron shop fire revealed

A FIRE at a Byron Bay bike shop is believed to have been sparked while staff were testing a faulty battery from a cheap online brand that a customer had brought in.

When the battery ignited, the flames quickly escalated, triggering a domino effect as staff rushed to retrieve a fire blanket to contain the blaze.

The Freedom Machine store on Byron Street was completely gutted, though staff and neighbouring businesses were unharmed.

In an Instagram post, the store thanked NSW Fire and Rescue and NSW Police for their swift response, as well as those who helped during the incident. However, it also revealed that a secondary storage area had been looted shortly afterwards.

“Though these are incredibly tough times, we are so incredibly thankful to the Byron Bay community and our staff for their ongoing support lending a hand where they can,” it said. “We have friends that we didn’t even know we had.”

The business says it plans to reopen in a new location soon. In the meantime, it is encouraging customers who are considering purchasing an e-bike to support the company through its other stores in Murwillumbah and Randwick in Sydney.

“There’s only one way forward and that’s upward as we rebuild stronger and better than before,” the post said.

The incident comes amid growing concerns about e-bike safety across the Northern Rivers region.

Over the past six months, 208 legal actions have been initiated for e-bike and bicycle-related offences in the Tweed Byron Police District.

Byron Bay, Tweed Heads and the Tweed Coast remain the primary hotspots for detected offences, with helmet non-compliance the most common issue, accounting for more than half of all cases.

Local police continue to attend schools and community events, providing education on the safe use of e-bikes and bicycles.

In a separate incident, a home in Miami on the Gold Coast was destroyed by fire on Good Friday while the family was away. Authorities believe an e-bike battery ignited in the carport before the fire spread throughout the property.