NEW YORK — A man was killed and 10 others were hospitalized when a charging e-bike battery sparked a raging Queens fire that tore through a home near LaGuardia Airport, police and fire officials said Saturday.
The blaze is the first fatal fire sparked by the lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and electric scooters this year, New York City Fire Department officials said. Last year, six people died in fires caused by these batteries.
“How many places have caught on fire because of these things?” stunned neighbor Anette Ruiz asked as she looked over pieces of the burned e-bike scattered on the ground outside the scorched brick-faced home.
