Jonathan Mendelsohn
In New York City, a 7-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman died in a fire in their home which was caused by an e-Bike lithium-ion battery. In the family’s Queens apartment, the battery from an e-Bike that was placed close to the front door apparently caught fire, resulting in the tragedy.
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According to N.Y.C Fire Department Chief John Hodgens, the fire “was able to travel directly up the stairs.” This caused 6 people inside the residence to be trapped on the second story of their building. Three children and their father were able to escape from the fire through a window, but unfortunately, the two victims were not quite as lucky.
Tragic Fire in NYC Proves Fatal
Hodgens told reporters that the fact that the fire began because of an e-Bike battery made the incident even more dire. He said “If this was not an e-bike fire, most likely, we would have been able to put this fire out without incident. But the way these fires occur, it’s like an explosion of fire and these occupants had very little chance of escaping.”
The two victims were found dead near the front of the home. The mother of the family was out during the time of the incident. Luckily, the fire did not spread to the apartment on the first floor of the building.
Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn also spoke on the matter, saying that the fire occurred after the e-Bike was charged using an “after-market charger.” Flynn said, “We want people to use them, but we want them to use them safely. We want people to purchase chargers that are compatible with the devices that they purchase. Do not buy the cheapest option. We implore everybody to please, be very careful and aware of the danger of these devices.” In the past 3 months, 5 people have died from similar fires involving e-Bikes in NYC, which has seen a total of 59 cases of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries since the start of 2023.
