Posted on 02/11/2023 9:37:29 AM PST by lowbridge
In less than two years, 11 people perished and 251 were injured in NYC fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries used to power e-bikes and e-scooters, the FDNY said.
In 2021, four persons died and 79 were injured in 104 lithium-ion battery fueled blazes in homes, fire officials said. Last year, those numbers took a concerning climb: six people were killed and 142 hurt in 220 battery-related fires.
Lithium ion batteries were the cause of the fourth most fire deaths last year, the FDNY said, behind electrical, portable heaters and smoking.
In the first month of 2023, there have been 1,563 structural fires in the city – and 15 of them are being probed as lithium-ion battery related, with one reported death and 25 injured, fire officials said.
On Jan. 20, Modesto Collado, 63, was killed and 10 others hurt after a charging e-bike battery fueled a fast-moving fire that tore through a home in East Elmhurst, Queens.
-snip
In August, an East Harlem blaze — sparked by lithium-ion batteries on an e-scooter or e-bike — killed a 5-year-old girl and her father’s girlfriend – as well as three dogs, fire officials said. The little girl, her 46-year-old dad and his 36-year-old girlfriend Chakaina Anderson became trapped inside a sixth-floor apartment of the eight-story building within NYCHA’s Jackie Robinson Houses during the early morning fire.
A month later, 8-year-old Stephanie Villa Torres was killed in Queens in a fire sparked by a lithium battery from her sibling’s new electric scooter. “Those batteries, they gotta do something about those batteries because it’s too many lives they are losing,” lamented a neighbor.
To that end, Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) has introduced legislation that would ban electric scooters and electric bikes until there are safeguards in place.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The more EV’s that come into the existence the more people are going to die from such fires as well.
yeah but just think of the sights and pretty light as cars zip down the highways engulfed in flames at night
Met a radio controlled aircraft enthusiast some years back that used lithium ion batteries in some of the planes. He kept them in a refrigerator in his shop, and said he worried about them exploding or catching fire…
But they drove with pride.
Grow up.
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I do a lot of driving in NYC. Yesterday I was wondering what the death stats were for the various types of scooters on the road now. They follow no rules. Move at stupidly high speeds, come out of nowhere in front, along side and from behind. Can’t believe it isn’t at least as high as the fire deaths.
Those Cree flashlights get pretty hot to if you use lithium batteries.
Moral of the story: Don't store your batteries behind electrical, portable heaters.
I keep mine in an ammo box.
In 1970 and part of 1971 I lived and worked in Chicago, renting a one bedroom apartment in a 5 story building about a mile from Lake Michigan. I owned a ten speed bike for exercise and recreation and kept it in my apartment. I suspect lots of E bike owners do the same thing, since most E bikes are small and light enough to get in and out of elevators. Hence, they present a constant fire risk for the owners and residents of all apartment buildings ands condos where they are kept.
They also are used to power laptops, cellphones and vaping pens and someone has been at least burned by spontaneous fires and/or explosions from them all.
We have fire extinguishers in this house. Was that a bottle of water he was attempting to use???
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