Grubhub Fires: San Francisco Faces 300% Spike in 2023

It’s a startling number: 15.6% of all fire department calls for e-bike and e-scooter incidents in San Francisco in 2023 were for delivery riders. Many of them work for platforms like Grubhub, and these fires are causing severe burns and massive property damage. The explosion in fires, almost always from battery failures, is a real and growing hazard for riders and the public. It forces us to ask hard questions about who’s accountable and what safety standards even mean in the gig economy.

Over 300% Increase in E-Bike Fires in San Francisco

The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) logged a 300% spike in e-bike and e-scooter fires between 2022 and 2023, and the trend isn’t slowing down in 2024. A jump this high isn’t a statistic. It’s a reality of serious injuries, including devastating burns, and people losing everything they own. A lot of these cases involve people using their e-bikes for work, like food delivery. When a Grubhub driver’s e-bike battery goes up in flames, the result can be life-altering, from third-degree burns that need years of treatment to their vehicle and belongings being incinerated. A spike this sharp, from my experience, points to a systemic problem, not just a few isolated accidents. It tells me there’s either a flood of cheap, bad products on the market, a serious lack of user education on battery care, or both. When you see a specific incident type skyrocket, particularly with commercial operators, it’s a red flag that demands immediate action and, unfortunately, often leads to very complicated personal injury litigation.

15.6% of E-Bike Fire Incidents Involved Delivery Riders

The fact that 15.6% of all e-bike and e-scooter fire responses in San Francisco last year involved delivery riders is a really telling statistic. That’s a huge overrepresentation. Delivery riders push their equipment much harder than someone just cruising on the weekend, they’re covering more miles, carrying heavy loads, and often charging their batteries as fast and as often as they can to get back on the road. All that intense use just accelerates wear and tear on the battery pack which makes a thermal runaway event more likely. On top of that, the economics of gig work can force riders to buy cheaper, uncertified aftermarket batteries or chargers, or to keep using a damaged battery long after they should have replaced it. This shows a real vulnerability in the gig economy. Companies like Grubhub depend entirely on these riders but do little to nothing to set equipment standards or help them afford certified, safe batteries. It creates a gap where riders, just trying to make a living, are putting themselves at risk of getting badly hurt. For someone who suffers severe burns, this context is a key part of figuring out who’s legally responsible.

Lithium-Ion Battery Failures: The Core Problem

Nearly all of these e-bike fires come down to one thing: malfunctioning lithium-ion batteries. They’re powerful and efficient, but they’re also incredibly volatile if they’re damaged or defective. The SFFD consistently points to things like physical damage, overcharging, using the wrong charger, and manufacturing defects as the direct causes of these fires. A 2021 NTSB report on lithium-ion batteries explained the risk of thermal runaway, a chain reaction where one failing cell triggers the next, leading to intense fire and explosions. This is exactly what’s happening to victims suffering severe burns. Legally, the top priority is to find the exact point of failure. Was it a defect from the factory? Was the battery damaged before the fire? Was a cheap, uncertified charger the problem? Each answer points to a different defendant. If a manufacturing defect is the cause, the battery maker or the e-bike company could be liable. If an aftermarket charger was the culprit, the company that made or sold that part could be on the hook. You can’t figure this out without a careful investigation and expert testimony.

California’s AB 2847 and Battery Safety Standards

California has tried to get ahead of this by passing Assembly Bill (AB) 2847 which went into effect on January 1, 2024. The law says that any new e-bike or e-scooter battery sold or rented in the state must meet safety standards from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or a similar testing group. Specifically, batteries need to be certified to UL 2271 or UL 2849, which are the standards for personal e-mobility electrical systems. The whole point is to stop the flow of cheap, uncertified batteries that are causing these fires. AB 2847 is a good first step, but it’s brand new, and enforcement is still a big question mark. The law mostly covers new battery sales, leaving thousands of e-bikes already out there with old, non-compliant batteries. It’s also tough to police online sellers or importers shipping uncertified products directly to consumers. For a burn victim, though, this law provides a new angle. If your e-bike or battery was bought after January 1, 2024, and it wasn’t up to code, that could make a product liability case against the seller or manufacturer much stronger. Proving that, however, takes an expert.

Disagreement with Conventional Wisdom: “It’s Always the Rider’s Fault”

There’s a common, and frankly lazy, assumption that these e-bike fires are “always the rider’s fault” because they used a cheap charger or modified the battery. While user error can be a factor, that view is way too simple and unfairly blames the victim, especially when they’re a delivery worker just trying to get by. Most riders aren’t battery experts. They buy equipment they think is safe, often from online stores, with no real way of knowing about safety certifications. In my opinion, blaming the rider ignores the real problems: manufacturers making shoddy products, retailers selling uncertified junk, and platforms like Grubhub that profit from this system without taking responsibility for the safety of the tools their contractors use. Just calling it rider error is a cop-out that ignores manufacturing defects, bad safety warnings, and the economic pressure that drives a gig worker’s choices. A real investigation usually shows a mix of causes, not one single mistake. It’s just not true that every battery fire is due to user error. Sometimes the product is simply a ticking time bomb. When someone gets severely burned by an e-bike fire while working for a platform like Grubhub in San Francisco, the legal side gets complicated. The rider is an independent contractor, not an employee, but that doesn’t mean the platform is completely off the hook. Depending on the details, like if the platform pushed them to use unsafe gear or had policies that encouraged dangerous practices, you could argue for indirect liability. Beyond the platform, the list of potential defendants includes the e-bike manufacturer, the battery maker, the importer, and the retailer. Every company in that supply chain has a duty to sell a safe product. Victims with severe burns face an unbelievable physical and financial ordeal. Burn treatment is long and painful, often requiring multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and years of rehab. The financial costs are overwhelming, from medical bills to lost income, property loss, and the immense pain and suffering involved. Anyone in this position in San Francisco needs to talk to a lawyer right away to figure out their rights and what compensation they can pursue. And document everything. From the first moment of the fire to every single doctor’s visit, it’s all evidence you’ll need for a strong case. These e-bike fires hitting San Francisco delivery riders are a public safety crisis that needs a real solution, not just blaming the end user. It requires a hard look at manufacturing, retail practices, and the complete lack of support for workers in the gig economy.

Conclusion

The explosion of severe burn injuries from e-bike fires in San Francisco, especially among delivery riders, shows a dangerous problem where product safety, the gig economy, and new technology all collide. If you’re a victim of one of these catastrophic fires, you need to focus on your recovery first, then get legal help immediately to deal with the complex claims process and the multiple parties who could be responsible.