A supply employee rides his electrical bicycle previous the New York Stock Exchange on March 16, 2020, in New York. Electric bicycles and scooters are being blamed in an rising variety of fires leading to accidents and deaths in New York City.

John Minchillo/AP

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John Minchillo/AP

A supply employee rides his electrical bicycle previous the New York Stock Exchange on March 16, 2020, in New York. Electric bicycles and scooters are being blamed in an rising variety of fires leading to accidents and deaths in New York City.

John Minchillo/AP

NEW YORK — An electrical bicycle powered by a lithium ion battery is being blamed for a deadly hearth on Monday in New York City that killed two youths, marking the most recent in a string of e-bike-related fires within the metropolis.

FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens stated it took his firefighters solely three minutes to reach on the Astoria, Queens, residence. However, with the fast-moving nature of e-bike fires and the actual fact the bike was being charged close to the entrance entrance of the multi-family constructing, the victims “didn’t have a chance to get out of the building” as the extreme hearth rapidly traveled up the steps to a second-floor house.

“So we got here very quickly. And if this was not a bike fire, most likely we would have been able to put this fire out without incident. But the way these fires occur, it’s like an explosion of fire,” he advised reporters exterior the burned residence. “It’s an ongoing problem. We implore everybody to please be very careful and aware of the danger of these devices.”

With Monday’s hearth, there have been 5 fire-related deaths this yr in New York City the place officers have stated the reason for the blaze was an e-bike, out of 59 complete e-bike-related fires this yr. Last yr, there have been six e-bike-related fatalities within the metropolis.

Hodgens stated a father and his 5 youngsters had been contained in the second-story house simply earlier than 2 p.m. when the hearth occurred. The father and three of his youngsters had been in a position to bounce from a window to security. The mom was not at residence on the time of the hearth.

Hodgens stated it seems an extension wire was operating from the higher house all the way down to what hearth officers imagine was an after-market charger for the bike, which was parked within the vestibule of the constructing. Hodgens stated whereas the bike was being charged on this case, there have been different fires involving bikes not being charged on the time.

Electric bikes have turn out to be common, non-gasoline-burning methods to make deliveries, commute and zip round a metropolis that has promoted biking in current a long time.

New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh urged residents to observe all producer security pointers and suggestions for e-bikes.

“We are also calling on our federal, state and local partners to move quickly on regulations that will help ensure tragedies like today’s fire are prevented,” she stated in a press release. “We are heartbroken for the family of these victims.”