Mayor Adams talks dangers of lithium-ion battery fires; Wants federal intervention
NEW YORK -- An e-bike fire that sparked a massive hours-long blaze in the Bronx prompted Mayor Eric Adams and Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh to demand immediate federal intervention to stop illegal lithium-ion batteries from entering the country.
It's just one of several steps the officials say are necessary to stop the alarming increase in the damaging and life threatening fires.
It's now all hands on deck. State lawmakers and the head of the firefighters union are joining the Adams and Kavanagh in calling for new laws and a massive crackdown to protect the city from the rash of e-bike fires that have been rising steadily in New York City over the past few years.
"These are extremely dangerous, and I'm really calling our national government to look at how do we restrict the sales of these batteries? And we're going to do education here to allow our delivery personnel, people who use these devices for recreational purpose, and make sure that they're not sold here illegally," Adams said.
Adams was speaking hours after he and Kavanagh rushed to the Bronx where a small e-scooter sparked a massive fire that sent clouds of smoke billowing over the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx and took firefighters hours to get under control. Seven people were injured, though thankfully none perished, this time.
"When you look at the video of what happened, it explodes," Adams said.
Video released by the fire department shows the scooter catching fire and flames spreading within seconds.
Kavanagh told CBS2 there are numerous things the feds can do.
"They could require that the devices, when they're sold, can only be charged with the cord they come with," Kavanagh said. "The can also confiscate or remove devices that are not certified right now... and then they can actually seize the same devices at the ports."
Officials are demanding the national response because of the ease in which cheaper, uncertified batteries can be obtained.
"I think it's incredibly critical. You know, we've seen a four-fold increase, you know, this year compared to last year," Kavanagh said.
Last year, there were 219 fires caused by devices that use lithium-ion batteries, resulting in 147 injuries and six fatalities.
Meanwhile, fire union officials are demanding that companies be held liable for allowing their employees to use black market batteries to make deliveries.
"I would like to see that as part of the solution," said Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. "If a UPS truck hits someone, UPS gets sued. If a DoorDash bike blows up in someone's apartment and kills the people upstairs, no one knows anything about it."
At the Dutch-X delivery service in SoHo, they only used certified batteries for their e-bikes. They have a special wall where the batteries are carefully charged. But co-founder Marcus Hoed says he understands why some are tempted to cut corners.
"Non-certified is much cheaper. The average cost of a bike is somewhere $2,500-$3,000. Non-certified are available for $1,500," Hoed said.
Meanwhile, St. Sen. Liz Kreuger and Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz introduced bills in Albany Monday to require all lithium-ion batteries sold in New York to meet accepted safety standards. They also want to ban the sale of used batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Meanwhile, yet another e-bike fire was reported Monday morning in Brooklyn.
The FDNY received a call just after 7 a.m. about an e-bike fire against a building on Williams Avenue. Sixty firefighters responded to the scene.
The fire was under control within minutes.
No injuries were reported.
