Electric scooter battery explodes in Athens hotel, triggering fire that injures three, one critically
A midday blast from a charging e-scooter on the ground floor of a Dorou Street hotel sent thick smoke racing through the building, trapping guests and hospitalising three foreign nationals.
Panic on the eighth floor
Guests described a sudden explosion followed by impenetrable black smoke that turned the stairwell into a death trap. One woman on the eighth floor recalled the chaos:
Some occupants smashed windows to breathe as flames consumed the ground-floor storage area.I only heard glass breaking and shouting. That's all I heard, and the smoke.
Response and containment
Emergency services received the first call at 11:47 on Sunday. Within minutes, 25 firefighters with seven vehicles, a ladder truck and a crane arrived on scene. The fire was confined to the ground floor and extinguished in roughly half an hour, but not before smoke reached every level of the eight-storey building. Police evacuated dozens of residents through a rear exit while traffic was halted on 3rd Septemvriou and Veranzerou streets.
Injuries and hospital transfers
Three men were taken to Athens hospitals. A 40-year-old Iranian national, who was working on the scooter when it exploded, suffered burns to his hands, legs and neck. He was intubated at the Red Cross hospital and transferred to the specialized burn unit at Thriasio Hospital. A 50-year-old Egyptian man sustained head and abdominal injuries while fleeing and also received treatment. A third foreign national, aged 52, was hospitalized with respiratory distress.
POEDIN president Michalis Giannakos stated:
The Iranian national is being moved intubated and in serious condition with inhalation burns from the Red Cross to Thriasio Hospital. The second injured person was taken to Sotiria Hospital in a light condition. The third, of Egyptian origin, fell and suffered injuries; he is at the Red Cross and may not require admission.
Investigation underway
The Fire Service’s Arson Crime Investigation Unit is examining the exact cause, though initial findings point to a lithium-ion battery failure during charging. Firefighters noted the difficulty of extinguishing battery fires, which can reignite spontaneously. Attica Regional Fire Commander Vasilis Zafeiris, who was on site, said:
The fire was located on the ground floor where it was immediately extinguished, but the smoke had risen to the upper floors and we evacuated all rooms.
- Emergency services receive the first call about the fire on Dorou Street.
- Fire breaks out on the ground floor from an exploding e-scooter battery; thick smoke fills the stairwell.
- Fire is brought under control. Firefighters begin clearing rooms of trapped guests.
- Traffic on 3rd Septemvriou and Veranzerou streets is restored.
