official (FDNY), via NBC New York, Oct 28 to 30
Bronx fire from an e-bike battery kills four, three of them children, FDNY says
Five people were pulled out in under four minutes. It was not enough.
Key facts
- Killed
- Four: boys aged 10, 11 and 16, and a 33-year-old woman (FDNY, via NBC New York)
- Cause
- A lithium-ion battery from an electric bike (fire officials)
- Critical
- One male victim (FDNY)
- This year
- 401 lithium-ion battery fires, 74 injuries and six deaths in NYC, against 292, 51 and one last year (FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore)
So far this year, we've seen 401 fires caused by lithium ion batteries, 74 injuries and six deaths.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, via NBC New York
Note
A fire sparked by an electric bike's lithium-ion battery broke out just before 1 AM on Wednesday on the 11th floor of the Patterson Houses in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, NBC New York reports. Crews arrived in under four minutes and pulled out five people: a 10-year-old boy, his parents and his two teenage brothers.
The 10-year-old died at the scene. On Friday the FDNY confirmed the deaths of an 11-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 33-year-old woman. One male victim remains in critical condition, and two firefighters had minor injuries.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the city has had 401 lithium-ion battery fires this year, with 74 injuries and six deaths, against 292 fires, 51 injuries and one death last year.
Why it matters
Battery fires in New York have risen by more than a third this year, and this one fire accounts for most of the year's deaths.
Sources
Primary + secondary attribution as listed.
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