Firefighters rescued three people from an apparent lithium-ion battery fire in Midwood early on Thursday morning.
FDNY personnel from the 33rd Battalion raced to the scene at 416 Avenue M just after 6:23 a.m. on June 27 and found heavy fire and smoke pouring from the second floor of a mixed-use building. One victim had already jumped from the building to escape the inferno, firefighters said, and was found with burn injuries on the sidewalk.
Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn said “the fire damage was pretty significant and units had heavy fire front to rear on the second floor.”
During a press conference after the blaze, firefighters said the e-bike that sparked the fire was found in the hallway, leading to difficulty removing the victims. Paramedics hurried one of the victims to a local hospital in critical condition. The other two were reportedly suffering from smoke inhalation, and were in stable condition.
More than 100 firefighters deployed four hose-lines to knock down the main body of the fire, and got the blaze under control at 7:43 a.m., more than an hour after they first arrived on the scene. Residents of the building watched from the sidewalk, holding their pets and belongings.
The FDNY’s Hazmat squad safely removed the hazardous e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries from the scene, and the fire marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire. According to city records, firefighters requested a structural investigation of the building after the fire.
Lithium-ion batteries — commonly used to power e-bikes and e-scooters — are prone to overheating and exploding, causing fast-moving and destructive fires. Last fall, an lithium-ion battery fire killed three people and injured more than a dozen more in Crown Heights, and law enforcement officials in April arrested a Flatbush shop owner for improperly storing the dangerous batteries.
To reduce the risk of fire, the FDNY recommends that New Yorkers only purchase legal, authorized lithium-ion batteries and chargers, and says batteries should be charged with a wall outlet, not a power strip, and away from doors or hallways. Charging lithium-ion batteries should not be left attended or left to charge overnight.
— Additional reporting by Kirstyn Brendlen
