NEW YORK—An electric bicycle powered by a lithium ion battery is being blamed for a fatal fire on Monday in New York City that killed two children, marking the latest in a string of e-bike-related fires in the city.
FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said it took his firefighters only three minutes to arrive at the Astoria, Queens home. However, with the fast-moving nature of e-bike fires and the fact the bike was being charged near the front entrance of the multi-family building, the victims “didn’t have a chance to get out of the building” given the intense fire that quickly traveled up the stairs to a second-floor apartment.
