NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Fire Department says a five-alarm fire in the Bronx that destroyed a building at 2096 Grand Concourse in the Bronx was sparked by a faulty e-bike battery. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said high winds contributed to the intensity f the laze.
Over two-hundred firefighters responded at around 10:40 am on Sunday.
Chief of Department John Hodgens told reporters the entire building was completely destroyed after the roof caved in while firefighters were battling the blaze. Seven people were reported injured, including five firefighters, one EMT, and one resident.
The extent of their injuries is unknown, but their condition is listed as stable at this time.
“”This really 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,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.”There is extraordinary 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.”
Hodgens said despite the quick response by firefighters, the conditions on the ground were already bad upon their arrival.
“We quickly stretched the hose line into the building and started to extinguish the fire. The amount of fire that is produced by a single battery in just under five minutes, we were unable to 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 really 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.”
FDNY is urging residents to make sure their e-bikes with faulty batteries can be dangerous, if not deadly.
“This bike could be in your home,” Commissioner Kavanagh said. “And if it can do this amount of damage to a store of this size, just think of the danger to yourself, your family, and your building.”