At least four people were killed and five others were injured after a Manhattan e-bike repair shop went up in flames, according to police and fire officials, as video from the scene showed heavy smoke billowing from the building.
The fire erupted shortly after midnight Tuesday near the corner of Madison Street and Catherine Street in the Lower East Side, fire officials said. More than 100 firefighters were called to battle the raging flames, and it took nearly two hours to finally get the fire under control.
Police said that four people — two men and two women — died in the inferno; a 62-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man were two of the victims who died, the ages of the other two was not immediately released. Five others suffered injuries, two of whom were said to be seriously hurt. A firefighter and an EMT were among those hurt, but the injuries to both were said to be minor.
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The Red Cross said that it was providing housing to emergency to eight homes, including 23 adults and two children.
The HQ E-Bike Repair shop is located on the street level of the six-story building. Fire marshals are looking into the cause of the fire, and investigators will see if lithium ion batteries — which were found to be improperly stored — played a role in the blaze. Video showed a pile of burnt e-bikes stranded on the sidewalk after the fire was put under control.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh said "there was a very large number of both batteries and e-bikes." The fire department said it had already fined the shop for illegally storing e-bike batteries, and it was due for another inspection soon.
"This exact scenario where you have a bike repair on the first floor and residents upstairs is incredibly deadly," said Kavanaugh.
The owner of the shop, who only identified himself as Mr. Liu, said through a translation that he was not in the shop at the time of the fire after having closed up at 10 p.m., and he did not know the victims personally. When asked if he was aware of the risk of lithium ion batteries posted, he stopped the interview.
Fires sparked by lithium ion batteries have been a recurring problem throughout the five boroughs for some time. In May, an e-bike battery was blamed for sparking flames resulting in a Washington Heights apartment fire that left four people dead.
The FDNY said there have been 108 fires resulting 13 deaths and dozens of injuries in 2023 alone linked to lithium ion batteries. That's two more deaths than in all of 2022, and the number of total fires has skyrocketed in recent years, having quadrupled since 2019.
A recent I-Team/Telemundo 47 Investiga investigation showed exactly what a lithium ion battery fire looks like and how quickly it can progress. Lawmakers have been pushing a buyback program that would allow delivery drivers to more easily replace older dangerous batteries with better built new ones.
There were heavy smoke conditions throughout, and officials said that some of the people injured were located right above the store. The fire was so intense, windows were blown out on upper levels.
At one point overnight, NYC Emergency Management advised that neighbors in the area close their windows to avoid the smoke.
An investigation is ongoing.
