Lithium ion battery fires have been on the rise across the country since about 2019 due to the increasing number of e-bikes and scooters on the road.
Cheddar’s own Ashley Mastronardi spoke to a business owner who was personally affected by an e-bike blaze.
"You see your livelihood is burning, it’s not easy to see," said Khalid Raja, owner of Quality Discount Inc., which was damaged in a five-alarm fire that started with a faulty e-bike lithium battery
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 25,000 lithium-ion battery fires reported in a five-year period.
The New York City Fire Department said these fires are happening all over the country and offered some tips for how to stay safe, including never plugging a battery-powered bike into a power strip and avoiding charging bikes at night.
The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are being found among the wild birds that spread it, but there have still been more than 8 million birds killed this year to help control the spread of the disease.
Police say three young men of Palestinian descent who were attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering were shot and injured near the University of Vermont campus.
