FDNY: 10 injured in early morning fire sparked by lithium-ion battery at Bronx apartment building
NEW YORK -- We've learned new information about a two-alarm fire in the Bronx Wednesday morning.
The FDNY has confirmed the fire was started by a lithium-ion battery.
Ten people are recovering from injuries related to that fire.
Flames poured out of the windows at 289 Bonner Place Wednesday morning.
"Heard a lot of commotion. I noticed that there was an engulfment of smoke," Bertrina Singletary said.
Singletary lives on the third floor, and said it all happened around 6:30 a.m.
"I went in my next bedroom to go get my two children. We ran to the back of the house and went through the fire escape, and that's when the fire department came to escort us out," Singletary said.
Singletary lived there for four years and lost everything.
"Still in shock, still in awe, but God is good," Singletary said.
Per FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of this morning’s 2-alarm fire at 289 Bonner Place, Bronx was accidental, caused by charging lithium-ion battery. 10 serious but non-lifethreatening injuries. No smoke detectors present. Occupants left fire apartment front door open when leaving.
— FDNY (@FDNY) June 28, 2023
The fire ,arshal was on scene investigating. Hours later, a cause was revealed: A charging lithium-ion battery. The FDNY said when people left that apartment, they left the door to it open, and there were also no smoke detectors.
Singletary and other neighbors said they would often see e-bikes being charged outside.
"There used to be an orange wire that would come out of the apartment building, and right here outside of the window. So they have an elongated wire you get from a hardware store and they would hook their bikes up that way and recharge them," Singletary said.
The FDNY said 10 people were injured, including a firefighter. The injuries are not life-threatening.
Jamie Rosado has lived in the building for seven years. She wasn't at home at the time, but her family was taken to the hospital.
"There are five of them. My oldest daughter, my second oldest, my two boys, and my granddaughter and my son-in-law. They're all in the hospital, because they were the last ones out of the building. They couldn't even breathe," Rosado said. "My kids have asthma, so they wanted to make sure that they're OK, their vitals are OK."
The Red Cross is assisting everyone displaced. There is a vacate order on the building.
Once the fire was out, some people went back in to try to grab what they could. Photos show the charred-out exterior - another example of the damage lithium-ion battery fires can do.