Over 100 Firefighters Respond To Astoria Bike Store Blaze: FDNY

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A two-alarm fire erupted at an Astoria bike shop Monday afternoon, spewing smoke into the neighborhood as over 100 firefighters battled the blaze, according to the FDNY.

The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m. at 5 Hermanos Bike Shop, a store on the first-floor of 30-05 41st Street, which is also an apartment building, fire officials said.

As the blaze spread from the first to the second floor of the building, fire officials quickly issued a second alarm, prompting 106 firefighters from 25 different units to rush to 30th Avenue and 41st Street, according to the FDNY.

Videos posted on Citizen show smoke billowing out of the building as fire trucks crowd the streets around the building.

As of 2:30 p.m. no one was hurt, according to the FDNY. Firefighters got the blaze under control about a half hour later, officials said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, an official said, but some online reports said that e-bike batteries sparked the blaze.

E-scooter batteries were the cause of at least 75 fires, 60 injuries, and three fatalities last year, which officials 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 September.

The following month, 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.

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