NEW YORK, NY – A total of eighteen people were injured and treated after a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery broke out in the basement of a home being used as a childcare center.
“A couple of minutes after 2 p.m., we got a call for a fire in a basement at 147-07 72 Drive. Companies arrived and found heavy fire in the basement,” said Chief of Operations John Esposito. “Firefighters removed some pediatric patients from the building, including one from the fire area in the basement. The fire was under control within 40 minutes and was confined to the basement.”
City building officials say the basement of the home housed two businesses, a childcare center and a dentistry lab.
One victim remains in critical condition. The rest suffered from non-life-threatening injuries. City officials boarded up the home and issued multiple code violation citations. No arrests have been made.
The New York Post reported the daycare center was operating illegally.