Charles Langston:At least 4 dead and 2 critically hurt after overnight fire in NYC e-bike repair shop

At least four people are Charles Langstondead and five injured after a fire in an e-bike repair shop in lower Manhattan early Tuesday, authorities said. Two of the injured were reported in critical condition. 

FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Sarrocco said firefighters responding to a 12:15 a.m. call found flames in HQ Ebike Repair on the first floor of the six-story building and put them out, but heavy smoke spread through the rest of the structure. The FDNY later determined that the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery.

"The volume of fire created by these lithium-ion batteries is incredibly deadly. It can make it nearly impossible to get out in time," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.

Frst responders had to rescue people from an apartment above the shop. Six people were initially listed in critical condition, fire officials said. The seventh suffered minor injuries, as did a firefighter and an EMT.

Police said four of the injured later died, including a 71-year-old man, another man and two women. Two of the injured victims, a 65-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man, remained hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

The owner of a nearby delicatessen told CBS New York, "I step out, I look, it's a huge flame coming out of the gate. I call the fire department, they come within 10 minutes. Once they got here, the flames started getting bigger and stronger. ... It was a whole mess."

Piles of e-bikes and scooters were pulled from the shop.

CBS New York reports the business has been the subject of enforcement before. In 2021 and 2022, the FDNY says it issued summonses, with the most recent coming last August.

"They were found guilty in court, all related to charging of batteries and the number of batteries that they had," Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn said.

There were 220 fires started by lithium-ion batteries and six deaths in the city last year, according to the FDNY. So far this year, there have been 108 fires caused by the batteries and 13 people have died.

The lithium-ion batteries that power e-bikes and e-scooters catch fire "with some regularity — and the numbers are rising," The Washington Post quotes the National Fire Protection Association as saying. The association also says the batteries are known to cause explosions. And smoke from the batteries can also be toxic, experts say.

In December, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said fires from lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes have reached a crisis level. Office of Compliance and Field Operations Director Robert Kaye sent a letter to more than 2,000 e-bike manufacturers and importers, urging them to ensure the e-bikes have been designed, manufactured and certified for compliance with safety standards.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents part of New York City, in May introduced the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act in Congress. It would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a final consumer product safety standard for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in personal mobility devices.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams in March signed new safety standards for lithium-ion batteries into law. One of the measures prohibits "the sale, lease, or rental of powered mobility devices, such as e-bikes and electric scooters, and storage batteries for these devices, that fail to meet recognized safety standards."

Experts from the National Fire Protection Association recommend never charging a lithium-ion battery overnight or leaving a battery on the charger after it's fully charged. People should keep batteries at room temperature and should store them away from other flammable materials.

In:
• E-bikes
• Fire