The fire department said this was the 216th fire connected to lithium-ion batteries in New York City this year
The number of people injured in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in New York City year rose to 120 Tuesday when yet another e-bike caught fire in a Brooklyn apartment.
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) said five people were injured, two critically, in the blaze which started around 4:48 a.m. on Menahan Street and Central Avenue.
The department showed the burnt-out bike, which had been kept inside, at a press conference about the fire. One fire chief described the device as like a "blowtorch in your apartment."
Officers rescued two people through a window on the second floor, while another was brought out via the stairs. Two others were injured on the seventh floor.
"Lithium-ion batteries produce a tremendous amount of fire and dense black smoke," Chief Kevin Woods said. "Those were the conditions our members encountered and it also pushes smoke under pressure, hence the smoke on the seventh floor where we had to remove two victims."
Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said this was the 216th fire related to lithium-ion batteries in New York City.
"We have been imploring local manufacturers, Amazon, online retailers to stop selling these unsafe batteries," Kavanagh said.
"We have worked with the Mayor and the city council to put a tremendous amount of resources into this and pass local laws, but unless we see manufacturers being compliant we will still find devices like the one we see here today, that are not compliant and cause these deadly fires."
Fires related to the batteries have killed fourteen people so far in 2023 in NYC.
The Commissioner said consumers need to ensure the batteries on their e-bikes are certified, that they are not plugged in while people are sleeping and that only the charger which came with the device is used to charge it.