An e-bike business owner whose shop burned to the ground after a battery exploded has issued a stark warning to Australians using the increasingly popular mode of transport. Twisted wrecks, charred ruins and a $635,000 damage bill are all that remain of Freedom Machine Byron Bay, in northern NSW, after the blaze swiftly took hold on April 16.
The Cause of the Fire
Owner Liam Kelly told Daily Mail that a lithium-ion battery placed on a charger ahead of testing sparked in his workshop and set off a horrifying chain reaction. About 60 bikes, worth an average of $6,000 each, with some models priced up to $20,000, were destroyed. He revealed the bike that exploded was bought online from overseas.
Warning to Consumers
Mr Kelly warned those in the market for an e-bike to avoid international sellers such as Temu, as well as buying from social media marketplaces and WhatsApp. 'There are Chinese factories dumping cheap bikes and saying they are a quality product, but the problem with that is there's no origin story (of the battery), there is no accountability,' he said. 'People should buy from reputable Australian brands.'
Until recently, Freedom Machine did not service e-bikes purchased from overseas due to their unreliability, but demand in Byron Bay, where there is no public transport and backpackers need cheap transport to get around, had caused the store to relax the rules. 'We prioritise workers over people who have a bike for recreational purposes,' he said.
No Injuries but Emotional Toll
Mr Kelly said there were three staff members on the premises when it went up in flames, but no one was hurt. In a devastating twist, Mr Kelly was boarding a plane home from Sydney when he received a phone call about the fire, and described viewing the smoking building from the sky. 'I'm embarrassed that this happened, people have lost things, and I'm embarrassed that it happened in a shop that was designed to be a safe workplace,' he said. 'I'm just glad everyone got out.'
Fire Brigade Response
According to Mr Kelly, the local fire brigade took 37 minutes to arrive at his store, despite a fire station being less than 1km away. 'It's not manned full time,' he said.
Personal Loss and Fundraising
Had Mr Kelly been in Byron Bay when the fire broke out, he believes he would have died trying to save everything he'd worked for. 'If I had been there I would be dead - worse than dead, I'd be alive with burns all over my body,' he said. 'I'm grateful I don't have the trauma of watching my bikes that I collected - I used to be a racer - and all my historical bikes going back to the 90s, burnt to the ground. They melted.'
Mr Kelly, together with his son Xavier, have launched a GoFundMe, aiming to raise $35,000. It's a small fraction of the total damages, but Mr Kelly is hoping to pay back customers whose new, paid-for bikes had just arrived but were destroyed. Beyond that, he vowed to rebuild the business himself.
Xavier said: 'Due to the nature of the fire, insurance won't cover it. There's no relief fund. There's no safety net. This business isn't just our job, it's our life. We don't own a house. Every dollar we've ever made has been reinvested back into the shop to try and grow and serve our community better.'
Looting and Future Plans
As the Kellys counted the cost of the explosion, they revealed another blow. Looters have been stealing items, including bike parts, from the rubble. 'Some of them are kids, posting about it on TikTok. I know their parents,' Mr Kelly said.
The Kellys, who have been involved in e-bikes and sustainable charging in Byron for 10 years and have owned Freedom Machine for four years, have vowed to reopen. 'It is the business that I've got, so I've got no choice now but to try and find a way to get going again,' Mr Kelly said. 'I've done startups in the past, so I can do that. I work really, really hard, so I can do it.'
