New York City is on observe to expertise twice as many e-bike-related fires this 12 months in comparison with final. Above, the stays of a fireplace in January in a Bronx condo.
FDNY
cover caption
toggle caption
FDNY
New York City is on observe to expertise twice as many e-bike-related fires this 12 months in comparison with final. Above, the stays of a fireplace in January in a Bronx condo.
FDNY
NEW YORK — Four occasions every week on common, an e-bike or e-scooter battery catches hearth in New York City.
Sometimes, it does so on the road, however more typically, it occurs when the proprietor is recharging the lithium ion battery. A mismatched charger will not at all times flip off robotically when the battery’s absolutely charged, and retains heating up. Or, the extremely flammable electrolyte contained in the battery’s cells leaks out of its casing and ignites, setting off a series response.
“These bikes when they fail, they fail like a blowtorch,” stated Dan Flynn, the chief hearth marshal on the New York Fire Department. “We’ve seen incidents where people have described them as explosive — incidents where they actually have so much power, they’re actually blowing walls down in between rooms and apartments.”
Brooklyn: 374 East ninth Street @FDNY working at a 3 Alarm Fire in a 3 story non-public dwelling with extention to adjoining constructing pic.twitter.com/oCs3VI39SQ
— NYRRT (@NYRRT) April 21, 2022
A fireplace in Brooklyn in April was traced to a defective e-bike or e-scooter battery that ignited and gutted two homes.
And these fires are getting more frequent.
As of Friday, the FDNY investigated 174 battery fires, placing 2022 on observe to double the variety of fires that occurred final 12 months (104) and quadruple the quantity from 2020 (44). So far this 12 months, six folks have died in e-bike-related fires and 93 folks had been injured, up from 4 deaths and 79 accidents final 12 months.
In early August, a 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant, recognized as Rafael Elias Lopez-Centeno, died after his lithium ion battery caught hearth and ripped by the Bronx condo the place he was staying. Carmen Tiburcio, a neighbor, stated Lopez’s aunt advised her he had tried to flee by the entrance door, however the bike was in the way in which. Instead, he took refuge within the lavatory, the place he tried to refill the tub with water to guard himself from the flames. But the smoke bought to him, she stated.
“He didn’t make it,” Tiburcio stated. “His lungs were very bad.”
Another hazard to supply work
Many, if not most, of the fires in New York contain e-bike batteries owned by restaurant supply employees, who work lengthy shifts, touring dozens of miles a day.
“The bikes tend to get beat up, subjected to the elements,” Flynn stated. “They’re not really made for our streets.”
The longer the batteries are used, the more time it takes to completely recharge them, and it could actually take as much as 8 hours. That in flip makes it more durable for house owners to maintain on eye on their batteries the entire time they’re plugged in, which is key for security.
E-bike batteries are made up of quite a few “cells,” every a bit bigger than a AA battery. If they’re broken and leak fluid, they’ll simply combust.
FDNY
cover caption
toggle caption
FDNY
E-bike batteries are made up of quite a few “cells,” every a bit bigger than a AA battery. If they’re broken and leak fluid, they’ll simply combust.
FDNY
In addition, new batteries are expensive, and the temptation to go for a less-expensive refurbished battery for a lot much less cash is nice — particularly for couriers who make a mean of $12.21 an hour after bills, based on a survey by Los Deliveristas Union, an advocacy and membership group.
Several e-bike house owners interviewed by NPR in New York City stated they had been conscious of the dangers batteries posed, and took measures to scale back them.
“A lot of guys have four, five, six bikes in their apartment and they swap out chargers for different bikes when it doesn’t belong to that bike,” stated Rafael Cardanales, who lives on the Lower East Side. “You can’t just use any charger, you know.”
Musfiqur Rahman stated that when he first bought into the supply enterprise, he purchased two new Arrow model batteries — for $550 every. He did it particularly to keep away from fires.
“As far as I know, this brand never get involved in this kind of incident,” the 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant stated.
The FDNY says most batteries are so destroyed by hearth after they examine them that they’ll make no conclusions about which model is safer than one other.
The FDNY has begun posting movies on social media warning concerning the risks of recharging lithium ion batteries.
Living in shut quarters
E-bike associated fires have occurred elsewhere, resembling London, San Francisco, Michigan and South Florida. But nowhere does concern for them seem like as excessive as in New York, maybe due to the prevalence of condo residing — and likewise the prevalence of ordering take-out.
While eating places typically retailer bikes in a single day for workers, fewer folks are actually working for specific eating places and lots of more for themselves, utilizing apps like Door Dash or Uber Eats to attach with prospects. And these couriers typically have no different place to retailer and recharge their e-bikes besides of their flats.
That, in flip, creates a fireplace hazard not only for the employees, but additionally for his or her neighbors. This summer time, the New York City Housing Authority proposed banning e-bikes and batteries from its 2,600 buildings. But the proposal created an uproar, and officers haven’t gone by with it.
An estimated 65,000 meals couriers work in New York City. The overwhelming majority use e-bikes or e-scooters to get round.
Matthew Schuerman/NPR
cover caption
toggle caption
Matthew Schuerman/NPR
An estimated 65,000 meals couriers work in New York City. The overwhelming majority use e-bikes or e-scooters to get round.
Matthew Schuerman/NPR
City councilmembers have proposed their very own options. One invoice, as an illustration, would ban the sale of used batteries within city limits. Another would require all batteries to be offered to be approved by a national testing service, resembling Underwriters Laboratories. Mayor Eric Adams not too long ago introduced he would direct $1 million to create hubs for delivery workers with charging stations and different facilities — although they’d probably be used in the course of the day and never present in a single day charging.
Councilmember Gale Brewer, who sponsored the laws that might outlaw the sale of used batteries, says she acknowledges that new batteries might be prohibitively costly to supply employees.
“They do, you know, God’s work, so to speak, because New Yorkers like to have food delivered,” she stated. “So now the question is how do they get the new batteries that are not going to cause fires?”