Fire Erupts In Bayside Restaurant With E-Bike Storage: FDNY

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A fire broke out Monday in the basement of a Bayside restaurant where an e-bike was being stored, fire officials said.

Firefighters rushed to respond to a basement fire at 38-40 Bell Boulevard — a building on the corner of 39th Avenue that houses Pho Grand Bayside — about 12:30 p.m., according to the FDNY.

The blaze was "quickly extinguished" and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, according to an email from the FDNY.

An e-bike was damaged in the fire but it remains unclear if it sparked the blaze, fire officials said.

Reached for comment, a worker at the restaurant — which appeared to be open Monday afternoon — declined to comment.

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.