Family, including 10

By Shosh Bedrosian

Updated on: July 31, 2023 / 6:15 PM / CBS New York

NEW YORK -- A family, including a 10-day old baby, escaped their burning apartment in the Belmont section of the Bronx after officials said their e-bike caught fire early this morning.

CBS New York's Shosh Bedrosian went back inside the apartment to see the damage the bike caused.

The fire broke out around 6 a.m. on East 187th Street at Southern Boulevard and Prospect Avenue.

Residents woke up and watched the plume of thick smoke pour out of the basement apartment.

"I was outside sweeping around 6 o'clock and I heard a cracking noise and suddenly I saw smoke," the building's superintendent said.

Fire officials said it's another case of a lithium-ion battery from an e-bike causing the fire to erupt.

"My nephew smelled the smoke and he said that he was dreaming about fire, and when he woke up, there was a fire," said a family member who showed up to help. "They were trying to escape but they couldn't, because the fire was in the living room, the bathroom, everything. They escaped through the back window."

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"She was arguing with him all the time to take this out of my house because something is going to happen," one family member who did not want to be identified said.

The woman lived in the apartment with her family, including her 10 day old granddaughter. She says her nephew used the e-bike for work, delivering food for Uber. Not only did she fear the battery could start a fire, she says management asked them to keep the bike outside in case something happened.

"We told them multiple times about it already, but people do as they desire," the superintendent said.

Inside the destroyed apartment where the fire happened, the remnants of the e-bike are completely burned. The tires aren't even visible. The batteries were actually outside of the home and were recovered.

The family spoke about their harrowing escape outside the back window here.

"They couldn't come out because the bike was in the living room, and everything was on fire," one family member said.

City Councilmember Oswald Feliz said it is just one of several lithium-ion battery-related fires in his district so far this year, including one incident that was deadly.

"We're having conversations about how can we remove all the unsafe batteries that are carried on our streets, and especially have delivery workers exchange them," Feliz said.

"Do you feel like it would be helpful if officials came up with some type of policy to help get these bikes out of the buildings?" Bedrosian asked.

"I think they should make it a criminal offense for the people who have the bikes," the building's superintendent said.

The family that escaped the apartment is OK, and only one person suffered minor injuries.

FDNY has investigated 144 incidents with fires and lithium ion batteries.

The fire is now under control and under investigation.

First published on July 31, 2023 / 8:28 AM

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