E-Bike Batteries Leading Cause of Fire in New York City; City Struggling Despite Restrictions

New York City: According to fire officials, the occurrence of e-battery fires in New York City will persist as long as uncertified batteries remain accessible, regardless of any new laws that may be enacted.

The FDNY is regularly addressing e-battery fires, with fire officials emphasizing the importance of using certified batteries for enhanced safety.

Last summer, the city implemented a set of regulations that restrict the purchase and sale of batteries that do not possess UL certification. Local stores have received 89 summons from the city for selling the batteries. However, individuals can still conveniently purchase them online.

Commissioner Kavanagh recently visited Washington DC to advocate for the implementation of uniform safety regulations for batteries at a national level.

Due to recent city laws, Amazon has implemented restrictions on shipping uncertified batteries to certain zip codes in New York City. Customers receive a notification in red, advising them to select an alternative address.

However, we discovered that the same battery is available for purchase on other websites such as eBay, despite the company’s policy against it. EBay has already removed over 259,000 listings.

“Even though laws have been passed to stop that we are still seeing them sold every day in stores around the city, we’re seeing them sold on these online websites, we’re seeing the delivery workers are still using them,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.

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