2 Hospitalized In UWS Fire, Lithium Ion Involvement Probed: FDNY

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY - Firefighters are investigating possible e-bike battery involvement in a blaze that injured two people on the Upper West Side early Monday.

The fire was reported on the second floor of a residential building at 2612 Broadway near 99th Street about 6:08 a.m., an FDNY spokesperson told Patch.

Lithium ion batteries, which power e-bikes, were “present on the scene,” fire officials said, but the cause of the fire is still being determined.

20 units, including 77 firefighters, battled the morning fire. The blaze was deemed under control about 30 minutes later, fire officials said.

Two people were taken to nearby hospitals with “serious life-threatening injuries,” fire officials said.

The blaze comes as the city reconciles with an e-bike battery problem. In 2022, there were more than 200 fires in New York City caused by the lithium-ion batteries exploding within the devices and causing a blaze.

Earlier this year, four people were badly hurt after a lithium-ion battery fire ignited at 165 Sherman Ave. in Inwood. Two people died in Queens in an April fire sparked by a charging e-bike.