FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh testifies about lithium-ion battery fires before Consumer Product Safety Commission
NEW YORK -- FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh testified about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries Thursday.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission held a forum in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing e-bike fires and the risks associated with these batteries.
The FDNY says the e-bike and e-scooter batteries have caused at least 131 fires in New York City so far this year, resulting in dozens of injuries and 13 deaths.
Kavanagh called for stricter regulations on the batteries.
"When one of these bursts into flames, we often don't know where it came from, and there's no one that we can hold accountable, and so I think that makes these sorts of standards from your agency and from the federal perspective much more important," she said.
The commissioner said lithium-ion batteries are now a top cause of fatal fires in New York.
Kavanagh was also expected to attend a first responder summit with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.