NYC announces e-bike safety changes after deadly fire

Name: NYC announces e-bike safety changes after deadly fire
Uploaded: 22 Jun 2023, 08:39:51 PM
Duration: 02:05
Channel: TIMESOFINDIA.COM

11 views | Jun 22, 2023, 08:39:51 PM | AP

New York Mayor Eric Adams says he has been sounding the alarm to ensure lithium-ion batteries no longer pose a deadly threat in his city.Adams announced on Wednesday that following a deadly fire that killed four people at e-bike shop on Tuesday, the city is ramping up its efforts in enforcement and education, starting with new measures that will immediately cut the fire department response time for any reports of questionable activity at bike repair shops and battery charging stations.“Effective immediately, 311 calls regarding questionable activity at bike repair shops, or any other locations where batteries are being charged, will get a response from a local fire station within 12 hours – instead of the 72 hours currently required,” Adams said.He also said the city has launched a campaign aimed at educating communities on best practices for these types of batteries in multiple languages.“Examples of questionable activities would include large number of batteries being charged close together, mazes of extension cords, cell of batteries that appear to be refurbished and informal charger centers that do not appear to be properly licensed businesses. And we’re asking the public to play a role. Let's not wait until this is going to victimize your family. If you see it, please report it,” he said.Fire officials say the early Tuesday blaze in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood was an accident caused by a lithium-ion battery – the latest in a string of fires blamed on such batteries in the city.Authorities say two men and two women died, and two other women were hospitalized in critical condition.Officials say battery charging and electrical violations were found at the shop last year and it was fined $1,600.“There was enforcement at the shop. A year ago, we, our inspectors from fire prevention arrived there, found violations. They pled guilty to those violations, and there has been continued surveillance at the location. We are proactively, as you heard today, trying to get to additional locations, because what we saw here and we've seen before, they continued to return to that illegal behavior as soon as we had left and as soon as they paid those fines,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.A man who said he owns the shop told The Associated Press that no batteries were being charged there overnight.