New York City fire inspectors dogged the HQ E-Bike Repair shop since at least 2021 over unsafe handling of lithium-ion batteries before the deadly blaze Tuesday that killed four people in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Fire Department officials said.
Nine months ago, fire marshals found e-bike batteries at HQ E-Bike Repair being charged while stacked next to each other and plugged into extension cords — violations that could undoubtedly spark and spread a blaze, FDNY officials said.
The marshals entered the repair shop on Madison St. near Catherine St. in Manhattan on Aug. 30 after getting a 311 tip about charging e-bikes plugged into extension cords, which is a violation of the fire code.
The marshals saw some e-bikes plugged directly into a wall socket, which is allowed, but many were being charged with extension cords.
The e-bike and scooter battery packs were also lined up next to each other — not separated three feet apart, as required by FDNY rules.
“The shop itself did not have a designated charging area,” an FDNY official said. The battery packs were also being charged for more than an hour, which is also a violation.
Marshals gave the owner of the Chinatown store three FDNY summonses for using extension cords and failure to maintain a charging area in accordance with the fire code. They were also given a summons for not having service tags on their fire extinguishers.
At an Environmental Control Board hearing, the business was found guilty of the violations and ordered to pay a $1,600 fine, FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said.
“These (violations) were all related to the charging of the batteries and the number of batteries they had at this location,” Flynn said at a press conference outside the bike repair shop Tuesday.
Similar violations were filed against the store in 2021, he said.
Fire marshals visited the store again in May. “They were not charging (the batteries) at the time, but they had many, many batteries inside the store, which is a…
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