E-Bike Battery in Cambridge Fire That Killed Mother and Two Children Had Been Repaired Twice, Inquest Told

An inquest has heard that the e-bike battery at the centre of a devastating house fire that claimed the lives of a mother and her two young children had undergone repair work in the weeks before the tragedy, raising fresh questions about the safety of second-hand and modified lithium-ion batteries.

Gemma Germeney, 31, died alongside her daughter Lilly, eight, and son Oliver, four, when fire tore through their home on Sackville Close in Cambridge on 30 June 2023. The children's father, Scott Peden, survived the blaze but spent four weeks in a coma after jumping from an upstairs window and then attempting to tackle the flames.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service concluded at the time that the most probable cause of the fire was an e-bike that had been charging inside the property. The inquest, which continues, has now begun to examine in detail the history of the bike and its battery in the period leading up to the fatal incident.

Giving evidence, Peden told the hearing that he had originally bought the e-bike online for £900 and that it had been in "perfect working order" apart from one occasion when he lost the key while on a fairground ride. A few months later, the battery was stolen, prompting him and his partner to look into buying a replacement.

He explained that a new battery would have cost "quite a lot of money" that he could not afford at the time. Instead, on around 9 June, he purchased a second-hand battery online that had been advertised as being in "perfect working order" — just three weeks before the fire.

According to his evidence, the replacement battery "seemed to take a while to charge" but provided enough power for him to get around. However, it later "cut out" while he was near his home, prompting him to seek help.

A colleague passed on the details of a repairman, Stoil Severinov, and Peden visited him accompanied by Germeney's father. On that first visit, he was told that "the battery was too powerful for the fuse", and the fuse was changed for £30. When the battery cut out again, Peden returned alone, and he said Severinov told him the battery needed replacing.

Peden told the inquest he had "nothing in the bank" at the time and asked the repairman desperately whether anything could be done before he was paid. He said Severinov "offered to bypass the cells" and indicated that this would only be a temporary fix. Asked directly whether Severinov had warned him of any risks associated with the work, Peden answered "no".

Peden said he paid £10 on the understanding that he would return to buy a new battery and charger once he had been paid, and he planned to "use the bike until payday". On the night of the fire, he recalled hearing a "massive bang" that travelled through the house — a sound he described as "very loud and very hard to miss".

Severinov also gave evidence, speaking through an interpreter. He told the court that he repaired bikes and e-bikes and described the work he had carried out on Peden's battery. He said that on the first visit he had changed the socket and the fuse, and that on the second occasion "it was just the fuse".

Severinov stated that he had explained on the first occasion that the repair "was a temporary fix". He said he remembered telling Peden that a new battery was needed, and he insisted that he had "never done anything to the battery cells", adding that he "didn't have the expertise in the first place".

The court was told that Severinov had been interviewed under caution by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, which holds primacy in bringing any criminal proceedings connected to the case. The inquest heard that the office has said no final decision has yet been made on whether to initiate criminal proceedings against any individuals or organisations.

At the outset of the inquest, the coroner read out a pen portrait written by Germeney's mother, in which she described her daughter and grandchildren as "our complete world" and as "beautiful, funny, extremely kind, loving and caring".

The deaths have already prompted broader debate about the regulation of e-bike batteries in the UK. The fire service and campaigners have repeatedly warned about the risks posed by lithium-ion batteries, particularly those that are charged indoors, are bought second-hand, or have been modified or repaired outside official manufacturer channels. Such batteries can enter a state known as thermal runaway, in which a cell overheats and triggers a chain reaction that is extremely difficult to extinguish.

The inquest has heard evidence that the battery in this case was not only purchased second-hand but was also worked on by a repairman who has said he lacked expertise in battery cells. That combination — a cheap replacement unit, followed by improvised repairs intended only as a short-term measure — is precisely the kind of scenario safety experts have warned about in the years since the Cambridge fire.

The case has also highlighted the financial pressures that can push households towards second-hand components and informal repairs. Peden's evidence painted a picture of a family trying to keep a mode of transport running on a limited budget, rather than deliberately cutting corners on safety.

The hearing continues, and the coroner is expected to consider not only the immediate cause of the fire but also the wider regulatory and safety questions it raises. Any future criminal proceedings would fall to the Office for Product Safety and Standards to determine. For now, the inquest stands as the fullest public account yet of how a routine purchase and two small repair jobs preceded a fire that destroyed a family.