NYC bike shop goes up in flames — and lithium-ion batteries are likely to blame for the blaze: FDNY
A Queens e-bike shop went up in flames early Thursday — and troublesome lithium-ion batteries are likely to blame for the blaze that left one firefighter injured, FDNY officials said.
The fire tore through Kings Electric Scooters on Jamaica Avenue around 2:30 a.m., officials said.
One firefighter who had been working the blaze was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, the department said.
Hazmat units were called to the scene for the presence of lithium-ion batteries — about a month after Gov. Kathy Hochul passed a package of bills cracking down on the batteries.
Luckily, the blaze was under control within less than an hour, by around 3:20 a.m., the FDNY said.
“The fire was pretty quickly controlled,” FDNY Deputy Chief George Healy said on scene, according to 1010 WINS. “We made searches. We removed some occupants from the second-floor residence.”
The official cause remains under investigation, according to the department.
“But there were e-bikes involved, so probably this is going to be another lithium-ion battery fire,” Healy said.
Video from the scene shows a pile of smoldering e-bikes on the sidewalk outside the shop.
Department of Buildings records show that a vacate order was also issued for the cellar Thursday morning, due to an illegal occupancy and conversion.
The batteries have been linked to nearly 270 fires that killed 18 people across New York City in the last year alone, Hochul said when she announced the crackdown last month.
Earlier this year, a lithium-ion battery-related fire in Harlem resulted in the death of Indian journalist Fazil Khan and forced other residents to escape by dangling from a window.
The new laws require e-bikes, mopeds and other micro-mobility devices to sport a bright red tag explicitly warning that they should be unplugged once fully charged. The new law also requires a list of safety measures for emergency responders and sellers.
Mopeds now have to be registered by dealers once they’re sold, a move that could help crack down on scooter-riding bandits, who police said are robbing unwitting pedestrians.
