Authorities reported the fire soon after midnight and revealed that the shop, HQ E-Bike Repair, had been previously cited for safety violations concerning the storage and charging of batteries during the previous summer.
The aftermath of the inferno painted a somber scene on the sidewalk outside the six-story building in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood. Charred bicycles, scooters, and various debris formed a haunting pile, bearing witness to the destructive force of the fire.
From ABC News:
The magnitude of this disaster is truly overwhelming.
Firefighters pulled six residents from the building in critical condition, though four have since died, Kavanagh said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
"It is very clear that this was caused by lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes," Kavanagh said at a press briefing Tuesday near a pile of charred and mangled rubber, bicycle frames and electrical components.
Information on the victims has not yet been released.
Following the fire, which occurred in lower Manhattan near Chinatown, the Red Cross said it was providing emergency housing to eight households -- including 23 adults and two children.
The location -- HQ E-Bike Repair -- was known to the fire department, which had cited it for violations in 2021 and 2022, fire officials said.
HQ E-Bike Repair was cited for multiple fire code violations in August 2022, found guilty and fined $1,600, according to Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn. The violations were related to the charging of and number of batteries at the location, he said.
The officials recently did surveillance at the property and found violations regarding the number of batteries, Flynn said.
One would expect stricter regulations to be in place for a building that houses such a significant number of batteries.
