Massive fire that tore through Bronx building sparked by e-bike battery: FDNY

[arcom]

THIS FIRE OCCURRED ON JAN 8 AND IS NOT THE RECENT FIRE THAT KILLED 17 IN THE BRONX

A massive fire that tore through a six-story Bronx building early Saturday, seriously injuring a firefighter, was sparked by a charging e-bike battery in a ground-floor restaurant, FDNY officials said.
The e-bike was being charged inside the Caridad Restaurant on Grand Concourse at E. 182nd St. in Fordham Heights about 2 a.m. when the bike’s lithium-ion battery caught fire, the FDNY said.
The fire quickly spread, causing extensive damage.

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE LINK: The batteries that tend to combust are “after market” items e-bike users buy online or in scooter stores as supplements or replacements for the battery that came with the device, FDNY officials said.

Factory-installed scooter batteries are generally safe, safety experts say.

 

[Gordon71]

Maybe a lawsuit or two to start getting cheap dangerous aftermarket batteries off the market?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Maybe a lawsuit or two to start getting cheap dangerous aftermarket batteries off the market?

hard to sue china.

 

[PatriciaK]

THIS FIRE OCCURRED ON JAN 8 AND IS NOT THE RECENT FIRE THAT KILLED 17 IN THE BRONX

A massive fire that tore through a six-story Bronx building early Saturday, seriously injuring a firefighter, was sparked by a charging e-bike battery in a ground-floor restaurant, FDNY officials said.
The e-bike was being charged inside the Caridad Restaurant on Grand Concourse at E. 182nd St. in Fordham Heights about 2 a.m. when the bike’s lithium-ion battery caught fire, the FDNY said.
The fire quickly spread, causing extensive damage.

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE LINK: The batteries that tend to combust are “after market” items e-bike users buy online or in scooter stores as supplements or replacements for the battery that came with the device, FDNY officials said.

Factory-installed scooter batteries are generally safe, safety experts say.

So, was this an ebike, or a scooter battery that was charging?

 

[arcom]

So, was this an ebike, or a scooter battery that was charging?

The Jan 8 2022 fire was caused by an e-bike when restaurant workers had several e-bikes charging inside the restaurant overnight and one exploded.

In In Sept 2021 a scooter battery caused the FIRE that killed the 9 year old boy.

On Dec17, 2021 A man was killed in a raging East Village fire. He was charging nine lithium batteries inside his apartment when flames erupted. An explosion blew out the windows and a wall inside the apartment and "instantaneously engulfed the residence in flames." A fire dept. spokesman said they were e-bike batteries'. However, a published photo of the burned out "e-bikes" clearly shows the e-bikes to be scooters. Two teenagers in the apartment were forced to shinny down a drain pie to escape the fire.

 

[tomjasz]

hard to sue china.

The founder of California eBike sold UPP batteries. One sold and was resold by the buyer on eBay. The third owner had a garage fire. California eBikes shop insurance paid the claim. Claiming OEM batteries are somehow safer is bullshit. Think about it! My first quality 36V battery was >$400 with dealer discounts.

 

[6zfshdb]

My brother had quite a scare Monday morning. He woke to the smell of smoke and the sound of sirens at the apartment building next to his. He grabbed his camera and ran over to see if he could help. He witnessed a baby being thrown off a second floor balcony into the arms of firefighters. He sent pictures & video to ABC news in NY and they aired this story on the 6 PM news:

1st responders catch baby tossed from burning apartment complex in NJ

Police said first responders saw a man sticking his head out the window of a second floor apartment with smoke pouring out. The man was able to drop the toddler to officers and firefighters below before jumping out himself.

abc7ny.com

He sent me these pics and asked if I thought an e-bike could start a fire like this:

He said the family who lives in the first floor apartment where the fire started has bicycles, including at least 2 e-bikes. From pic 2, It appears the fire started in the balcony corner near the yellow bike and spread quickly up to the roof. He's seen batteries being charged on a table near an AC outlet in that corner. From what I can see, it doesn't appear either of the bikes in the pic are e-bikes though.

The fire marshal is still investigating the cause but it appears it may be another lithium battery fire.

 

[theemartymac]

With the proliferation of ebikes and emobility devices like scooters, I suspect it's only time before you start to see a bigger focus on UL certification (CSA here in Canada). It might not have a huge direct impact on the hobby side of the subject, but that would begin to limit unregulated options on the commercial side of the coin. It's not uncommon for insurance or other regulations to require UL/CSA certification for products used or sold whenever it exists in that sector. That 'might' help with manufacturing standards and product consistency for much of the consumer market. As deaths due to these types of fires begin to become statistically significant, you can bet there will be attention paid to it.

 

[Asher]

With the proliferation of ebikes and emobility devices like scooters, I suspect it's only time before you start to see a bigger focus on UL certification (CSA here in Canada). It might not have a huge direct impact on the hobby side of the subject, but that would begin to limit unregulated options on the commercial side of the coin. It's not uncommon for insurance or other regulations to require UL/CSA certification for products used or sold whenever it exists in that sector. That 'might' help with manufacturing standards and product consistency for much of the consumer market. As deaths due to these types of fires begin to become statistically significant, you can bet there will be attention paid to it.

Also worth noting that we had an e-revolution of sorts that was aborted because of fires like these - remember the hoverboards?

These crappy ebikes and scooters are a small fraction of the total market thankfully, so I don't see the general market losing momentum. Seems like the problem is confined to stingy hobbyists and restaurant delivery types looking to shave every dollar possible. Obviously madness because even a pricey ebike costs pennies per mile.

 

[Art Deco]

With the proliferation of ebikes and emobility devices like scooters, I suspect it's only time before you start to see a bigger focus on UL certification (CSA here in Canada). It might not have a huge direct impact on the hobby side of the subject, but that would begin to limit unregulated options on the commercial side of the coin. It's not uncommon for insurance or other regulations to require UL/CSA certification for products used or sold whenever it exists in that sector. That 'might' help with manufacturing standards and product consistency for much of the consumer market. As deaths due to these types of fires begin to become statistically significant, you can bet there will be attention paid to it.

The insurance industry is already paying attention.

 

[sc00ter]

And don't forget the vapes catching fire in peoples pockets and purses. Or the cell phones awhile back. These batteries are little time bombs when assembled poorly.

 

[Art Deco]

And other threads on battery fires appear regularly. The insurers may start refusing to cover or charge exhorbant rates for bikes.

E-Bike Batteries Are Catching on Fire Way Too Often And delivery workers are demanding safe charging stations.

https://www.curbed.com/2022/01/ebike-battery-fires-delivery-workers-charging-stations.html

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