NEW YORK – Lithium-ion batteries used to power electric bicycles and scooters have already sparked 22 fires that have injured 36 and killed two in New York this year, four times the number of battery-related fires this year there last year, authorities said on Friday.
Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is “addressing this issue from every angle,” including working with City Council and the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission on additional regulations. for batteries and educating the public on their proper use and storage.
“These are incredibly dangerous devices, and we need to make sure community members handle them properly and use them safely,” Kavanagh said during a public safety briefing.
Many battery-blamed fires have been caused by malfunctioning devices that were left to charge overnight and placed in a hallway or near a doorway where they could trap people inside a burning apartment.
Three children and an adult were injured this month when a charging battery ignited a fire in their upper Manhattan apartment at 1:30 a.m., authorities said.
Fire department operations chief John Esposito said after the February 5 fire that when the battery overheated and started a fire, it “blocked the exit to the apartment, trapping the family”.
Kavanagh said e-bike batteries “often exhibit an immediate inability to leave the room, apartment or house. So it’s really critical that we work with all of our partners here in government around law enforcement. , education, countering the dangers this poses to citizens and first responders.”