One person was killed and nine others were injured when a fire blamed on an electric bicycle battery tore through a Bronx apartment, officials said Monday.
The fire started at around 7 p.m. Sunday in an apartment on the 10th floor of a 14-story public housing complex on Bronx River Avenue in Crotona Park, an FDNY spokesperson said.
One person, a 39-year-old man, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries and later died, the spokesperson said. Four people were taken to nearby hospitals, with two suffering serious, life-threatening injuries, according to the FDNY; a total of nine patients were treated for minor injuries by EMS.
Fire marshals determined that the fire was caused by a lithium ion battery for an e-bike that was found amid heavy clutter near the entrance of the apartment near East 174th Street and the Cross Bronx Expressway, department officials said. The fire was under control about 90 minutes after it broke out.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The deadly fire happened three weeks after a fire blamed on a lithium ion battery killed three members of a Brooklyn family.
New York City has seen hundreds of fires linked to the batteries that power electric bikes and scooters in recent years. City officials have blamed off-market batteries and chargers for many of the fires and they have lobbied the federal government to strengthen regulations governing the sale of e-bikes and batteries.
