How E-Bike Battery Fires Became a Deadly Crisis in New York City
How E-Bike Battery Fires Became a Deadly Crisis in New York City
E-bikes and e-scooters have flooded New York City’s streets in recent years, embraced by delivery workers and commuters alike as an economical and efficient new way to get around. But even as the devices have grown in popularity to become nearly ubiquitous, the batteries inside them have made New York City an epicenter for a new kind of ferocious and fast-moving fire.
These fires are “uniquely dangerous,” warned Laura Kavanagh, the city’s fire commissioner. With little or no warning, the batteries can ignite, leaving seconds for people to escape. In just three years, lithium battery fires have tied electrical fires and have surpassed blazes started by cooking and smoking for major causes of fatal fires in the city.
Reasons for the uptick of these fires are myriad. They include a lack of regulation and safety testing for individually owned devices, hazardous charging practices (like using mismatched equipment or overcharging) and a lack of secure charging areas in a population-dense city with numerous residential buildings, where most fires start.
But for New Yorkers who rely on e-bikes and other battery-powered devices to make deliveries or otherwise earn a living, the fires have forced a choice between financial stability and personal safety.
Across the country, over 200 micro-mobility fire or overheating incidents have been reported from 39 states, resulting in at least 19 fatalities, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. But the organization emphasized that the problem is particularly acute in densely populated areas like New York City. In London, lithium battery fires are the fastest-growing fire risk, with 57 e-bike fires and 13 e-scooter fires this year, according to the London Fire Brigade.
Across the country, over 200 micro-mobility fire or overheating incidents have been reported from 39 states, resulting in at least 19 fatalities, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. But the organization emphasized that the problem is particularly acute in densely populated areas like New York City. In London, lithium battery fires are the fastest-growing fire risk, with 57 e-bike fires and 13 e-scooter fires this year, according to the London Fire Brigade.
In New York, lithium battery fires have killed 13 people so far this year, including four people in a blaze that started in an e-bike store in Chinatown on Tuesday. A total of 23 people have died in battery fires since 2021. This year, there have been 108 fires so far, compared with 98 fires for the same period last year.
During the pandemic, when public transit was compromised and the demand for food deliveries skyrocketed, a ready supply of cheap e-bikes and e-scooters of questionable quality cropped up across the city.
New Yorkers looking for good deals pounced. With many residents living in tight quarters, they would charge their batteries in their apartments.
But once a lithium battery overheats or malfunctions, all bets are off; the speed and impact of lithium battery fires make them particularly perilous, especially when people live close together.
This has pushed more and more landlords to ban e-bikes and other e-mobility devices, while New York’s leaders have worked to prevent the fires on several fronts. In September, New York will become the first city in the nation to ban the sale of e-bikes and other e-mobility devices that fail to meet recognized safety standards.
City and fire officials have also pushed for greater state and federal oversight of the devices, shut down illegal battery charging stations, worked with food delivery apps to educate workers and shown public service messages with exploding batteries.
“I have very, very serious concerns in the short term,” Commissioner Kavanagh said. “These devices are here now, and there’s lots of them.”
