Presence of mind saved the life of a 24-year-old from Salzburg. He had charged his electric scooter in his apartment.

Dramatic scenes took place in an apartment in Salzburg-Taxham when an electric scooter suddenly burst into flames. David Berger, a 24-year-old resident of the apartment building, experienced the shock of his life when he heard a loud crack while charging his e-scooter and the device started to burn seconds later.

“I immediately pulled the plug and it started to smoke,” the young man, who is happy to have escaped with minor burns, reported exclusively to the Austrian daily newspaper “Krone”.

When a flash of flame and a small explosion hit the scooter, Berger’s only concern was to prevent the fire from spreading to his entire apartment. Without hesitation, he threw the burning scooter from the fourth floor into the courtyard after making sure no one would be harmed.

“Of course I made sure beforehand that no one was down,” says Berger, who suffered burns to his legs during the action. Despite the new branded device, Berger is determined to hold the manufacturer responsible.

The incident in Salzburg is not an isolated case. E-scooters are viewed critically nationwide due to safety concerns. Against the background of similar incidents, the Association of German Transport Companies has spoken out in favor of a ban on e-scooters on buses and trains.

As the MDR reports, some transport companies in Germany have already decided to ban transport from May onwards, while others continue to allow transport. Even in large cities like Munich, taking along is no longer allowed.

The focus of the current safety debate is the lithium-ion batteries of e-scooters. Experts such as Dirk Aschenbrenner, President of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (VDFB), warn of the dangers posed by these energy storage devices.

He reports on MDR; that the batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space, which would cause the batteries to burn out very quickly in the event of a malfunction. Just a while ago the battery of a device exploded in London, setting the kitchen on fire. The resident of the apartment had to go to the hospital.

The traffic light is fighting over development aid as part of the budget negotiations. One thing is clear: Germany certainly supports dazzling projects. For example, a project to “promote positive masculinity” in Rwanda. FOCUS online research shows: There are obviously discrepancies between the goal and the implementation on site.

16-year-old Sophie actually just wanted to celebrate her prom with her friends, but the student was excluded from the event. Because she came in a suit instead of an evening dress.