Spread responsibility for fighting e-bike fires: Landlords and delivery apps need to help combat the lithium-ion battery danger

Seemingly out of nowhere, fires caused by faulty lithium-ion e-bike batteries have become a clear and present danger in this city — taking lives, putting our first responders at risk and causing millions of dollars in property damage. After an initially slow response, politicians are starting to take action, but much more needs to be done and it needs to be done now. So far this year, to lithium-ion e-bike batteries in New York City.

At least 14 people have been killed and 93 have been injured. As an attorney at a law firm that works very closely with both the FDNY, as well as those whose lives have been impacted by fires caused by negligence, I’m watching this situation very closely and I fear that if nothing more is done, it’s only going to get worse. First, how did we get here? The use of e-bikes was approved by state and city politicians in 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold.

During those dark days, the demand — especially in the city — for more takeout food and delivered home goods skyrocketed. With that came the use of these relatively inexpensive, powered bicycles that with top speeds of roughly 25 mph, proved popular among delivery drivers. These trends are continuing.

The problem is the deluge of cheap, low quality lithium-ion batteries imported from overseas and faulty conversion kits that turn normal bicycles into e-bikes. Both have been known to be the major cause of e-bike related fires. As most riders store and charge their bikes indoors, these hard-to-extinguish lithium-ion blazes in densely populated areas, stores and high-rise dwellings have been recipes for disaster.

Adding to that, there’s currently a lack of federal, state or local safety standards surrounding e-bikes and the infrastructure supporting them. Fly-by-night shops advertising e-bike modifications and chargers are rarely licensed and don’t appear to be on any regulating entity’s radar. Congregating spots catering to delivery drivers routinely include battery charging stations that tax the building’s wiring to the limit.

that fire officials are ramping up enforcement actions on the e-bike shops. She called for the public’s help in identifying the rogue locations. That’s a good thing, but the FDNY needs more help from the city and Albany.

Lawmakers must pass legislation — similar to what was done — explicitly making landlords responsible for what happens in these shops and charging stations. It’s their property: make them have skin in the game. As there are (currently) far fewer of these places than there are illegal cannabis shops — and with physically more lethal and damaging consequences — I believe this strategy would actually be more effective in these efforts.

, becoming the first city in the United States to regulate the safety of e-bikes and e-scooters, that will ban the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters that have not been certified for safety. That’s great, but confusion remains on a state and local level whether these devices are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission or fall under “motor vehicle” status, and thus regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and/or the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Enforcement is the key to any law’s effectiveness.

This needs to be clarified as soon as possible, most likely by Albany lawmakers. The private sector also has a part to play here and it’s in our best interests to do so. Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash and the like, which have made record profits off the increase and ease of delivery on demand, should start certifying that their workers are using only safe and legal e-bikes and batteries.

It would be for both the greater good and might potentially protect them from litigation in New York or other places down the road. City and state agencies should also explore recycling or buyback programs to remove these dangerous and hazardous batteries from our streets. Yes, that would require some expense, but the cost of doing nothing is much, much greater and deadlier.

Finally, these dangerous, foreign-manufactured lithium-ion batteries are getting here somehow. The feds control our ports and they should make rooting out these fires-in-waiting a priority. We are teetering on the verge of multiple catastrophic events if we don’t take further action now.

These batteries ignite without warning, and because of the intensity of these fires, that gives people only seconds to escape. Time is not on our side. .