Bronx firefighters worked to subdue a massive five-alarm fire that broke out in the Tremont section of the Bronx, Sunday morning.
Per FDNY Fire Marshals, the cause of Sunday’s 5-alarm fire at 2096 Grand Concourse in the Bronx was a lithium-ion battery that powered a scooter.
“There was an extraordinary amount of damage from this single e-bike. This call came in around 10:41 a.m. Sunday morning. We had over 50 units, Fire, and EMS on the scene. We had over 200 members. We have seven injuries, five firefighters, one member of the EMS, and one civilian. Everyone is stable,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
“But this shows you how incredibly serious this can be. Thanks to the quick work of our members, who were here in under four minutes, we have not suffered a loss of life. There was tremendous damage. This entire building behind me is completely destroyed. The roof is caved in. There is nothing left. It’s all because of this one single e-bike. And so we want to emphasize to the public how much damage can be done by a single e-bike that isn’t compliant. A single e-bike that might not be certified might be using an illegal battery. This bike could be in your home. And if it can do this amount of damage to a store of this size, think of the danger that to yourself, to your family, to your building.”
“We quickly stretched the hose line into the building and started to extinguish the Fire. But, unfortunately, with the amount of Fire produced by a single battery in just under five minutes, we could not get ahead of it. It had spread quickly into the void spaces of the building and took off from there. These buildings are old, and the lumber, and when you expose that aged lumber to Fire, it quickly spreads throughout the entire building,” said Chief of Department John Hodgens. “It was a difficult operation. We went to a defensive operation. You see these tower ladders, we stopped the Fire from spreading to the furniture store, but the Fire had already spread to the laundromat. It’s something that we have never seen before, as far as a small fire turning into something like this in a matter of a few minutes.”
Yesterday, an e-bike battery started a five-alarm fire that destroyed a Bronx supermarket located on Grand Concourse and 181st Street. If you have an e-mobility device, check to see if your device is UL tested and certified. For more safety tips visit https://t.co/NpwdRdlElY pic.twitter.com/gSmvF0vQhC
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 6, 2023
FDNY members are continuing to operate at a 5-alarm fire at 2096 Grand Concourse in the Bronx. pic.twitter.com/lU5cdal8mj
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 5, 2023
I'm relieved to report that no one has been seriously injured in today’s 5-alarm fire in the Bronx. @FDNY Commissioner Kavanagh has been sounding the alarm on the danger of lithium batteries on e-bikes and today we again saw why.
Safety must come first. pic.twitter.com/1yhN7vSgWP
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) March 6, 2023
.@NYCMayor joins @FDNY Commissioner Kavanagh and other FDNY leadership on the ground at the site of the 5-alarm fire in the Bronx. pic.twitter.com/eMBLikJyg7
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) March 5, 2023
Per FDNY Fire Marshals, the cause of today’s 5-alarm fire at 2096 Grand Concourse in the Bronx was a lithium-ion battery which powered a scooter. pic.twitter.com/HTifRojiJo
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 5, 2023
