E-Scooter Battery Sparked Fire At Astoria Cafe, Manager Says

ASTORIA, QUEENS — An e-scooter battery left charging in the basement of an Astoria cafe set the building ablaze on Sunday, marking the latest in a spate of battery-sparked fires this year.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 12th, 60 firefighters rushed to respond to a basement fire at 36-03 30th Avenue — a three-story building with two apartments and a ground-floor cafe, called Create.

After dousing the blaze in water, firefighters searched through the building; they didn't find anyone inside, but did discover some lithium-ion batteries on fire in the basement, FDNY records show.

A manager at Create's Ditmars Boulevard location confirmed with Patch that lithium-ion e-scooter batteries were charging in the cafe's basement on Sunday, and according to him they sparked the fire.

Sunday's blaze marks at least the 75th scooter battery fire this year, which officials have attributed to the growth of the restaurant delivery business and the sale of cheaper, poor-quality batteries.

"We want to really stress the seriousness of this situation," said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro after a 9-year-old Queens boy died in a battery-sparked blaze in Sept.

The boy is one of three fatalities and 60 injuries connected with battery fires this year — a roughly 150-percent increase from 2020, according to FDNY data reported by Streetsblog.

In Oct., after Fire Marshals determined that four fires in one week were caused by e-bike batteries, officials issued a warning to e-bike users, encouraging them to be careful when charging and storing the batteries.

"Lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy and can pose a threat if not treated properly," officials warned users, noting that the batteries are commonly used in cell phones, laptops, tablets, electric cars, and scooters.

No one was injured in the blaze at Create, but the fire has left the cafe without electricity, water, or power, the manager told Patch, adding that he doesn't know when the business will reopen.

Fire officials told Patch that the cause of the fire on 30th Avenue is still "under investigation" but said that lithium ion batteries have sparked "numerous fires" and directed New Yorkers to a video about battery safety.