A fire that erupted in a food market in Brooklyn early Monday has been linked to lithium ion batteries used in e-bikes and scooters, FDNY fire marshals have found.
The blaze in the Xin Hao Supermarket on Seventh Ave. near 54th St. in Sunset Park just after 7 a.m. was caused by a malfunction near a charging station where scooters, bikes and the batteries were being stored, a city official said.
The shop was selling the scooters and bikes, the official said. Firefighters pulled nearly two dozen of the devices from the fire, officials said.
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About 150 firefighters responded to the blaze, which consumed most contents inside the market and damaged some of the four-story brick building structure as it spread from the first floor into the second and into the space between the roof and the top floor.
“Units stretched multiple lines into a stubborn fire,” Deputy Assistant Chief John Sarrocco said at the scene. “Our units did a great job, cut holes in the roof and extinguished the fire.”
The fire went to a second alarm at 7:23 a.m. and a third alarm at 7:47 a.m., the FDNY said.
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One civilian was treated at the scene and two firefighters were taken to Maimonides Medical Center with minor injuries, officials said.
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“Normally, these scooters, if they are involved in any fire, their batteries can overheat and cause spontaneous combustion so the Fire Department procedure is to pull them out of the building and make sure they are in open air,” Sarrocco said.
The e-bikes were also being used for deliveries from the market, Sarrocco said.
An investigation is continuing.