An e-bike is the suspected cause of one of four fires that left three people injured and required more than 280 total first responders in the Bronx on Monday, according to the FDNY.
Fire officials received the first call just before 6 a.m. on July 31 and responded to a basement fire at a four-story building located at 768 E. 187th St., near Southern Boulevard and Prospect Avenue in the Belmont section. According to the FDNY, it was an all hands response that warranted 12 units and 60 firefighters.
After the blaze was marked under control at 6:36 a.m., the FDNY requested the disposal of an e-bike at the building. According to the agency, one civilian suffered a minor injury and another suffered a serious but non-life threatening injury and was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital. The official cause of the inferno was still under investigation Tuesday evening.
E-bike fires are an all too familiar phenomenon in New York City. Earlier this summer, the FDNY attributed an apartment blaze in Concourse Village to an electronic lithium-ion battery — the kinds of batteries that power most e-bikes. That fire injured nine people in June.
That same month a fire also engulfed an e-bike shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The fire and thick smoke spread to apartments above the shop, killing four people and injuring three others, including a responding firefighter.
The e-battery fire issue — apart from perhaps the Twin Parks North West apartment fire in Fordham Heights that killed 17 people in January 2022 — has been central to various regulatory proposals and policies across New York City.
In two recent examples, Fordham University banned e-scooters, e-bikes and e-skateboards across university property citing fire danger last December, and state Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz announced in March that he’d be championing two bills that would regulate the use of low-quality lithium-ion batteries.
The FDNY posted a video to Twitter on Monday morning cautioning New Yorkers to be proactive in e-battery fire prevention.
“The FDNY is encouraging New Yorkers (with) lithium-ion powered mobility devices to follow practices to prevent fires and keep you safe,” the Tweet says. “Do not leave batteries charging unattended or overnight when you’re sleeping. Do not use power or extension cords to charge.”
The FDNY is encouraging New Yorkers w/ lithium-ion powered mobility devices to follow practices to prevent fires and keep you safe. Do not leave batteries charging unattended or overnight when you’re sleeping. Do not use power or extension cords to charge. pic.twitter.com/lpTMlvDiJT
— FDNY (@FDNY) July 31, 2023
But the early morning blaze was only the first of the day.
Around noon, the FDNY received a call of an inferno at a two-story house at 1111 Mace Ave. in Allerton that required a 25-unit, 106-fire personnel response. One firefighter reported minor injuries.
Just about 10 minutes after the Mace Avenue fire was brought under control at 1:34 p.m., the FDNY got a call that another one had broken out at 920 Westchester Ave. just south of Longwood. The blaze at the eight-story building — which was marked under control just 19 minutes later — was an all-hands response with 12 units and 60 firefighters, according to the FDNY. There were no reported injuries.
The fourth fire was a two-story house blaze at 2741 Morgan Ave. in Pelham Gardens. The all-hands fire also yielded no reported injuries, and was under control at 4:52 p.m. — less than 45 minutes after the call was received, according to the FDNY. Twelve units and 60 firefighters responded.
The causes of each of the three afternoon fires were still under investigation as of Monday evening.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
