E-bike batteries were still catching fire Friday at HQ Ebike Repair Shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown, days after lithium-ion batteries in the business exploded into a fast-moving fire that killed four people.
Sixty firefighters and EMS personnel responded to a new blaze in the building at 80 Madison St. around 6 p.m., the Fire Department said.
A pile of batteries at the site “just ignited,” said witness Belal Alayah, 25, who works in a deli across the street and who said he called 911 to report the deadly fire on Tuesday.
“I smelled the fire at first, and then I stepped out side, and it was burning again,” he said. “I had to kick people out of the store, because the fumes were so toxic”
The batteries also caught fire on Thursday night, Alayah said.
“I had an argument with the Fire Department,” Alayah said. “Why aren’t you taking away the piles of bikes outside?”
“It’s going to burn down the whole block and many businesses, including mine,” he said. “We’ve got the jackpot sitting out there.”
But another witness said firefighters were busy doing just what Alayah wanted when Friday’s blaze erupted.
“The firefighters were inside, throwing burnt bikes and batteries into the dumpster out front,” said a 62-year-old neighborhood resident who was across watching the FDNY clearing debris from the gutted store when the flames began.
“It was smoke and a lot of little sparklers going off. Then it went up,” said the man, who declined to give his name.
“The firefighters were right there, but by the time they unrolled the hose it was already full flames,” the man said. “It was a matter of seconds.”
It’s well-known among firefighters that burned-out lithium-ion batteries regularly reignite.
“Lithium-ion batteries are known to reignite even more than 24 hours after all fire was extinguished,” FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb wrote in a recent issue of Firehouse Magazine, noting that firefighters should not pick up burned…
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