Thirty-eight people were hurt, with two suffering life-threatening injuries, after a fire broke out inside a 37-story building in Manhattan on Saturday.
The FDNY reported that a three-alarm fire erupted from the battery of a micro-mobility device – an e-scooter or an e-bike – at around 10:30am on the 20th floor of an apartment building at 429 East 52nd Street.
Officials said at least two dozen residents rushed to the roof while others hung out of their windows to try and escape the fire.
Video at the link.
This happened in Jan 2020 —- My son bought some name brand batteries off amazon for his cordless drill. After putting them in the charger he in went and took a shower. While in the shower he heard 4 large bangs coming from his garage . He went out to check and everything was on fire. The charger was burning and the cells in batteries were launching themselves from the work bench across the garage. To make a long story short, the Fire Department was called and extinguished the fire. The fire prevention officer contacted Amazon and they pulled the product immediately. Good on them!
My son has two little girls 3 and 6. We were very lucky. If this had of happened when everyone was asleep, well, your guess is as good as mine
Anytime I’m charging lithium batteries I’m in the room. When I leave the shop at night, the charger gets unplugged. I don’t trust them. Never had a fire. Yet.
I won’t watch…
Not in the mood…
What we all experienced in the last three years these poor people suffered in…
It’s exactly the same thing…
One was a manipulative Slow-Mow nightmare paid for by our loving .gov’s…
Just replaced my smoke detectors a few days ago…
Time to hang the new Fire Extinguishers…
Hmm…
I use Lithium batteries in my DSLR…have never had an issue – Now that don’t mean I wont ever have one either…fully aware of the potential danger. (those are the only Li batteries I will ever use)
Theres a reason why they ask you ’bout them on aeroplanes and at the post office….
So, what the e-bike owner was doing was storing the equivalent of a can of gasoline in his apartment. What could possibly go wrong?
Hopefully they can identify the e-scooter manufacturer.
Lawsuit coming.
You splurge on a new EV and take it home all proud how you are saving the planet.
Your insurance company updates your policy and triples (at least) your premium because if you charge these things at home in your garage, you are playing with fire.
It takes 500,000 lb’s of raw material to make a 1000 lb battery.
Saving the planet, yeah right.
A real good video to check out on YT, search: George Carlin Environment. He called these morons out over 30 years ago.
Someone was repairing the bikes when the fire broke out. Wait. What?
I have two UPSes in my two-bedroom apartment to protect my entertainment electronics and my work-from-home gear. They’ve got comparable energy output to a small ebike. I have to replace the batteries every 3-4 years or so due to degradation; Twelve years and I’ve never had a problem, nor do I worry about having a problem. That’s because those UPSes are made by companies who would be out of business and criminally prosecuted if their batteries weren’t safe as houses.
The primary problem with e-vehicle batteries is that they’re all made in China with Chinese levels of quality control. Which is to say none.
Most UPS batteries are still lead acid, so different risks that what is with the lithium based cells.
Railways still use ni-cads and lead acid batteries, and no lithium cells, because of the risks
Oh, I’m aware. And it’s possible to make Li-ion batteries much, much safer than what we’re currently seeing; the risk profile is well-known. Anything electrical made in China should be assumed to be a deathtrap waiting to happen unless the company with their logo on it has a multi-year legacy of safety and quality control.
When lithium batteries were first deployed in laptops they had an unfortunate tendency to explode. That doesn’t happen any more, to the point that most laptop batteries are internal and not user-replaceable. You have to seriously mangle the case to cause enough of a rupture to get a fire or explosion (like, don’t throw your laptop in an industrial shredder).
I don’t think there’s been a single case of an e-bike exploding as a result of a crash that causes a containment breach, which is what you’d expect. An e-bike lighting off while charging (or discharging) is pure quality control.
I just purchased a newly made two stroke engine installed in a10 speed bike…
Woks great…
Getting a two wheel trailer made for it…
Also a spare engine….
It will be able to run year round…
No digital currency investments for me…
If I can’t touch it…
I don’t own it…
Be careful with the local LEO.
Any bike with a gasoline motor added to it IS considered a moped ( motorized pedal bike ) in Canada and probably in some USA jurisdictions.
It was like this since the mid 70’s due to people back then doing exactly what you are doing cause of the energy crisis at that time.
Many accidents later new rules were put into the transportation acts.
And as such is subject to a special drivers license, insurance, plates and tags, plus helmut.
If caught by a dick cop you will be facing some serious charges and fines.
Check your local DOT.
Ask me how I know.
The larger context of this fire is that they are occurring at a rate of 4 per week in New York City.
I hope voters remember these facts before Tuesday.
I’ve been using small rechargeable lithium batteries for a decade (vape batteries.) I can honestly say that if you handle and charge them correctly, they are pretty safe and reliable. I’ve only two mishaps. My GF had one combust in her hand and she dropped it, the other burned up and melted a charger when I stupidly inserted it backwards.
The problem is that energy sources and storage devices have potential energy, and the larger the potential energy multiplied by the number of stupid people using them causes disaster. A vape battery has a rather small potential compared to what is necessary to propel an SUV for 200 miles.
But to be fair, I’ve seen plenty of stupidity when handling flammables as well. I’ve delivered gasoline cans to stranded boaters who were intent on smoking cigarettes while reaching for the cans. Nope!