New York Cracking Down on Lithium Batteries in E-bikes Amid Rise in Deadly Fires

Charred remains of e-bikes and scooters sit outside of a building in New York City, on June 20, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on July 11 signed a series of bills aimed at addressing the increasing danger posed by lithium-ion batteries.

The slate of bills are primarily designed to improve safety around electric bikes (e-bikes) with action such as consumer education requirements and critical training for first responders.

“Today, we’re taking the first steps to extinguish the scourge of lithium-ion battery fires here in New York City,” she said at an event in New York City marking the signing of the legislation.

Ms. Hochul touched upon a recent tragedy in February when an apartment building fire in Harlem sparked by a charging e-bike resulted in the death of a 27-year-old man.

“Brave firefighters scaled the edge of the building trying to pull people through the windows and lower them to safety,” she said, praising the efforts of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY).

She noted the rapid uptick in these incidents in recent years, attributing them to the proliferation of uncertified, poorly made batteries.

“Let’s talk about the facts in New York City alone: lithium ion batteries sparked 268 fires that injured 150 people and claimed 18 lives,” Ms. Hochul added. “You know what the number was just a couple years ago? Zero. Zero people lost their lives.”

“Shoddy lithium ion batteries have quickly become one of the most dangerous objects in our city,” Ms. Hochul added. “Without warning, they can malfunction, overheat, ignite, and explode, causing this level of destruction. They’re often uncertified, poorly made, sold with no clear safety instructions or recommended precautions, and, as I said, these are tough fires to fight.”

These new laws build on the “Buy Safe, Charge Safe” statewide campaign Ms. Hochul announced earlier this year to raise public awareness about the dangers of lithium-ion battery fires.

Slate of Legislation

Ms. Hochul announced several new measures to ensure the safety of e-bike, scooter, and moped users.

The legislation will establish consistent quality standards for all lithium-ion batteries sold in the state, with penalties for non-compliance.

It will also require retailers to provide operating manuals and red tags on charging cords to warn users not to overcharge the batteries.

Additionally, specialized training will now be required for firefighters on how to handle lithium-ion battery fires.

“These batteries don’t catch on fire like kindling,“ Ms. Hochul added. ”They explode like a grenade. They spew toxic gas and chemicals everywhere. For our first responders, it’s like arriving at the scene of an arson where someone poured a gallon of gasoline on a home right before lighting a match. That’s how explosive this is. That’s how fast the fire spreads.”

The legislation also focused on pedestrian safety and data collection, now requiring all e-bikes and scooters to have warning stickers about pedestrian right of way, along with collecting detailed data on e-bike and moped crashes to inform future safety policies, and requiring registration of mopeds at the point of sale to ensure traceability.

“We’re not done. We’re going to continue finding ways to improve safety,” she added.

Rising Trend in Fires

The Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) has produced several studies on the specific dangers related to this type of fire and continues to research the events, collaborating with the FDNY to study such battery failures.

The FSRI said these types of batteries pose high fire and explosion risks when they fail, which is concerning as they have become more popular due to their light weight and high energy density.

The FSRI’s report noted the FDNY had observed a rising trend in e-mobility device fires since 2021, responding to 104 such fires that year, which resulted in 79 injuries and 4 deaths.

This trend worsened in 2022, with double the number of incidents and 6 deaths reported by mid-year.

Also in 2022, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sent a letter to more than 2,000 manufacturers of e-scooters, self-balancing scooters (often referred to as hoverboards), e-bicycles, and e-unicycles because the issue had become so prevalent in not only New York, but nationwide.

In the letter, they warned that manufacturers must take action to limit harm from the devices, which “may pose an unreasonable risk to consumers of fire and serious injury or death.”