FDNY fire marshals have determined that a Murray Hill house fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery on Sunday evening.
The FDNY responded to a report of a basement fire at 164-18 Pidgeon Meadow Rd., just before 7:30 p.m., where firefighters discovered approximately 100 lithium-ion batteries burning in the cellar. The property owner was operating an illegal lithium-ion battery repair business inside the home, and multiple micro-mobility devices and lithium-ion batteries were found in various states of disassembly and disrepair.
A dozen units and 60 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the location between 164th Street and 166th Street. FDNY Haz-Mat units removed and overpacked more than 600 individual battery cells from the home. The blaze was brought under control at 10:55 p.m.
The FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention issued a criminal court summons to the owner for illegal storage of e-mobility devices. Additionally, an FDNY summons was also issued against the property owner for miscellaneous fire code infractions.
Lithium-ion batteries that are improperly stored, tampered with or uncertified can create an extreme risk to the public and first responders, according to the FDNY.
The fire on Pidgeon Meadow Road occurred less than a mile and a half east of a Kissena Boulevard pizzeria, where a 76-year-old grandmother became New York City’s first victim this year to die in a fire caused by an exploding lithium-ion battery on the 4th of July. The senior became trapped in the bathroom when an e-bike that was charging in a vestibule just outside the door erupted into a wall of flame.
