NEW YORK — It has happened again — a deadly fire started by lithium-ion batteries . It happened this time in Chinatown at an e-bike repair shop at 80 Madison St. , and FDNY officials say they’ve issued summonses at the building before.
Four people were killed and several others remain in critical condition. Large piles of e-bikes, scooters and batteries were placed on the sidewalk. The FDNY remained on the scene on Tuesday afternoon in case any hot spots flared up.
Officials said a pile of charred batteries started smoking Tuesday morning and then ignited. Hours earlier, just after midnight, a 911 call came in saying the building was on fire. The FDNY says the lithium ion batteries exploded and spread flames quickly.
“The sheer volume of fire is incredibly dangerous. It can make it nearly impossible to get out in time,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. “Both fire and EMS put their lives on the line to pull victims out and did pull many victims out.
” Others could not be saved, including two men and two women. The NYPD said one man was 71 years old and one woman was 65. Two other women are in critical condition.
At approx 12:15am, #FDNY Members responded to a fire at 80 Madison St where they found heavy fire in an e-bike store on 1st floor. Firefighters made interior attack. 7 injuries, 6 of them critical.
1 FF with minor injuries. Cause under investigation. pic.
twitter. com/DQn4zijbyT 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. Flynn said there were also issues with the electrical wiring it takes to charge, and that the business was ordered to pay a $1,600 fine. He said the process then calls for the FDNY to re-inspect after the court hearing.
“We did do some surveillance recently at the location. We saw that they were not charging the batteries at the time, but they do have many, many batteries,” Flynn said. Alberto Lugo said he has been a customer at the shop for three years.
“I saw this and I’m saying how it can’t be, because he never charged nothing,” Lugo said. Other customers were not surprised. “It was going to happen sooner or later.
He has a lot of traffic. A lot of people come here,” Panchito Rodriguez said. “The wiring was very worrisome and how it looked inside the store,” Nicholas Kemelmacher added.
The FDNY says in 2022 there were 220 fires started by lithium-ion batteries and six deaths. So far this year, there have been 108 fires caused by them and 13 people have died. “I think the real issue is uncertified versus certified batteries.
A lot of these fires are coming from uncertified batteries,” City Councilman Christopher Marte said. “The City Council passed legislation to do away with these uncertified batteries and for sellers to only sell certified ones. Dozens of people were displaced from their homes.
It’s a sad day here. ” Alice Gainer joined CBS2 as a reporter and anchor in January 2013. She covers breaking, feature and general assignment stories.
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From: newyorkcbslocal
URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/4-people-killed-2-others-critically-hurt-when-fire-breaks-out-at-e-bike-shop-in-lower-manhattan/
