What happened here
1 / 4 On 19 November 2024, around 5:30 PM, a fire broke out at My EV Store, an electric-scooter showroom in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. Batteries reportedly exploded, more than 20 scooters burned, and the accountant, Priya, was trapped in a small cabin and died of asphyxiation and burns. One person who escaped had minor burns. Fire officials said the showroom had no smoke detectors, sprinklers or extinguishers. Charge and store EV batteries away from exits and sleeping areas, and leave at once if a battery starts to smoke.
Quick answers
What happened in the Bengaluru EV showroom fire?
A fire broke out at an electric-scooter showroom in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, destroying many scooters. A young woman employee, Priya, was trapped in a small cabin and died of asphyxiation and burns, and fire officials reported missing smoke detection and sprinklers.
Why is charging electric scooters in a basement risky?
This fire was in a street-level showroom, not a basement. Battery fires can cause rapid heat, toxic smoke and re-ignition, and an enclosed basement leaves smoke and people with even fewer ways out.
How can EV showrooms prevent battery fires?
Avoid charging in basements, install automatic sprinklers and smoke detection, separate battery storage with fire-rated walls, set written controls for charging and damaged batteries, and keep an unobstructed escape path on every floor.
What should you do if trapped in smoke in an EV showroom or garage?
Stay low, cover your nose with a cloth and crawl toward the exit. Stand away from charging batteries, note extinguishers and exits in advance, and call 101 or 112 at the first sight of fire.
Priya was the accountant at a small electric-scooter showroom in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. On a Tuesday evening in November 2024, the scooters around her caught fire. Everyone else got out. She did not.
The evening of 19 November 2024
The fire broke out around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, inside My EV Store, an electric-scooter showroom on Dr Rajkumar Road near Navrang junction, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka. Police said five or six people were in the showroom.
Batteries reportedly began exploding and the fire spread fast. More than 20 electric scooters were destroyed, according to the Indian Express; a PTI report put it at over 45.
Everyone else got out. Priya took shelter in a small cabin and was trapped. A fire official said she died of asphyxiation and severe burns. Smoke can trap a person well before the flames reach them. PTI gives her age as 20, the Indian Express as 26.
Of those who escaped, one person had minor burns and some had trouble breathing because of the smoke (Deccan Herald). Four fire tenders were sent, and the fire was put out the same evening.
The next day, police arrested the owner and the manager under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (causing death by negligence). A court granted them conditional bail.
What fire officials found
A fire department source said the fire may have started from a short circuit in battery connections. That is a working theory, not a final finding. Fire officials also said smoke detectors, sprinklers and even fire extinguishers were missing.
There was nowhere safe to go either. Priya sheltered in a small cabin as the fire spread, and could not get out.
Remembering Priya
Priya had worked at the showroom for three years. She was cremated on 20 November 2024, her birthday.
Two fires that get mixed up
This fire is often confused with a separate one on 27 January 2025 at the Okinawa Galaxy showroom on the same road. That one gutted 19 two-wheelers and hurt no one. The My EV Store fire was in a street-level showroom, and no report places it in a basement.
What would have helped
- Smoke detectors, sprinklers and extinguishers suited to the showroom and its battery stock, kept in working order.
- A fire-separated room for charging and storing batteries, away from the sales floor, offices and exits.
- Quarantine for damaged batteries. Any swollen, dented or overheating pack should be kept apart, outside if possible, until it is removed.
- A second way out from every room, and no cabin or office where staff can be cut off.
- Trained staff who know to raise the alarm, get everyone out and call 101 or 112 at once.
- Regular fire inspections for all EV showrooms and service centres.
If a fire starts where you work
- If you see smoke or hear a battery pop or hiss, get out at once. Do not stop to save stock or papers.
- Do not hide in a cabin, toilet or store room unless there is truly no way out. Small rooms fill with smoke quickly.
- If there is smoke, stay low, cover your nose and mouth with a cloth and move to the exit.
- If you are trapped, close the door, block the gap with cloth, go to a window and shout or phone for help.
- Call 101 or 112 as soon as you are safe.
- At any showroom, garage or service centre, notice the exits and the extinguisher when you walk in.
How common these fires are
According to the NCRB report Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2024, 5,971 fire accidents killed 5,888 people in India in 2024, about 16 a day. Of those deaths, 60.4% (3,555) happened in homes and other residential buildings. As more homes and shops fill with electric scooters and their batteries, the way we charge and store them matters more every year.
What needs to change
India’s move to electric vehicles cannot leave fire safety behind. That means clear rules for charging and storing batteries in showrooms, service centres and residential buildings. It means fire-separated charging areas, not charging points in passages, cabins or basements.
If you live in Bengaluru, the Bengaluru fire and emergency safety guide has the fire brigade numbers, every fire station and the local risks to know.
What you can do tonight
- Avoid charging in basements and closed parking areas unless the charging point is designed and approved for it.
- Use the charger that came with the vehicle. Do not leave a battery charging all night.
- If a battery swells, smells or gets very hot, stop charging, move away from it and call the dealer or the fire brigade.
- Ask your society or workplace whether its fire safety approvals and inspections are up to date.
- Share this case study with EV owners and your society group.
Before you sleep tonight, look at where your scooter charges. Do not charge an electric scooter in a passage, near the main door or next to where people sleep.
- Fire breaks out at My EV Store, Rajajinagar; batteries reportedly begin exploding
- Others escape; Priya is trapped in a small cabin and dies; four fire tenders put the fire out the same evening
- Police arrest the owner and manager under BNS Section 106; Priya is cremated on her birthday
- A separate fire at the Okinawa Galaxy showroom on the same road guts 19 two-wheelers with no injuries
Why consequences escalated
- Many lithium-ion batteries in one showroom made a large store of energy that burned fast once it started
- The showroom had no smoke detectors, sprinklers or extinguishers, according to fire officials
- Battery fires give off thick, toxic smoke quickly, so a person in a small room can be overcome before the flames arrive
- Priya sheltered in a cabin instead of reaching the exit, and was trapped there
- The preliminary theory points to a short circuit in battery connections, which careful charging and storage controls are meant to prevent
- This fire is often confused with a separate January 2025 showroom fire on the same road
Failures and risk multipliers
- No smoke detection, sprinklers or extinguishers in a showroom full of batteries
- Charging and storing batteries in the same space where staff work
- Offices or cabins with only one way out
- Hiding in a small room instead of leaving at the first sign of smoke
- No written rules for damaged or overheating batteries
- No fire training for showroom staff
Actions that reduce risk
- Fit smoke detectors, sprinklers and suitable extinguishers in every EV showroom and service centre
- Set up a separate, fire-separated area for charging and battery storage
- Write and follow rules for charging, overnight storage and damaged batteries
- Make sure every room has a second way out and nobody can be cut off in a cabin
- Train all staff to raise the alarm, evacuate and call 101 or 112
- Get regular fire inspections of EV dealers and service centres
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