2 Fires Torch Midtown E-Bike Rental Depot: FDNY

MIDTOWN, NY – Firefighters responded to a significant blaze at 109 West 38th Street early Tuesday morning, after an alarm alerted authorities to a fire inside a 12-story commercial building.

When they arrived at the scene, firefighters broke into the building – which was locked – and found what officials described as a heavy fire.

“We believe it was started from an e-bike, a battery being charged,” said Brian Gorman, the FDNY’s Manhattan Borough Commander.

“A second fire began in the basement, due to water from the [first] fire and sprinkler activation, which bled onto other batteries that were being stored [there],” Gorman continued.

Approximately 86 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene, according to an FDNY spokesperson, and hazmat units dealt with the dangerous batteries. The fire was under control by about 4:30 a.m.

“All lithium-ion batteries have the potential to explode,” said FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. “There were hundreds of batteries stored in here, this was a very significant commercial charging and storage location, and extremely dangerous to the public and to FDNY first responders.”

The address officials provided corresponds to Bike+ Rental NYC BinGit. A message left for the business hasn’t been returned, but we’ll update this story if we hear back.

Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s press conference, officials characterized the store as a habitual scofflaw.

“This is a location we’ve been at several times, we’ve conducted enforcement here several times, we’ve written them violations, we’ve written them summonses,” said Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn. “They’ve persisted to engage in these unsafe practices, and as you can see…what they’ve done here endangered everybody – not just the public but our firefighters as well.”

One firefighter sustained a minor injury and was transported to Lenox Hill Greenwich Village, officials said.

“Lithium-ion batteries that are being stored in buildings like this are ticking time bombs,” Tucker emphasized.

Between 2019 and July of this year, lithium-ion batteries had started 733 fires citywide, killing 29 New Yorkers and injuring 442 more, and the batteries have surpassed electrical fires as the top cause of civilian fire deaths in the five boroughs, according to a 2023 FDNY report. Many of these fires are connected to e-bikes, which are used by the city's roughly 70,000 food delivery workers.

“The amount of fires that we’ve had related to these devices has remained relatively the same as it [was] last year,” Flynn said. “This problem persists, it is not going away. We will continue to inspect these locations [as] we become aware of them. If you see a location that you feel is dangerous, please let us know, and we promise we’ll get out there within 24 hours to inspect it.”

More information about reporting lithium-ion battery safety issues is available here.

Video of Tuesday's press conference is below.

FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker provides update on all-hands fire at Manhattan e-bike store https://t.co/FlZbrzVyvP
— FDNY (@FDNY) December 3, 2024