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New York Metropolis has been experiencing loads of fires recently.
Only a month in the past, a sudden blaze consumed an house in Brooklyn, killing three individuals. The fireplace was attributed to an e-bike’s lithium-ion battery — and it’s not the primary time. This 12 months, the New York Metropolis Fireplace Division has recorded 243 fires, 124 accidents, and 17 deaths associated to e-bike batteries.
But the issue isn’t restricted to New York. Lethal e-bike fires have now occurred world wide, from San Francisco to London to Australia. Many private and non-private organizations have referred to as for elevated regulation to handle the issue.
That hasn’t stopped some New York landlords from banning e-bikes from their buildings, preferring to keep away from the chance altogether. If the fires proceed, that worry of e-bikes will solely develop into extra prevalent, stated Bob Passmore, a division vp on the American Property Casualty Insurance coverage Affiliation.
“These fires can occur wherever, not simply in high-density areas,” Passmore informed GearJunkie. “What number of occasions like this can it take earlier than it impacts property house owners usually? It’s laborious to say. However we all know it’s a major concern.”
Truth test NYC Fireplace Code relating to e-bikes
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‘It’s the Battery’
To be clear, e-bikes themselves aren’t an issue.
However a lot of their lithium-ion batteries, additionally present in laptops and smartphones, have the potential to overheat or malfunction, even when not actively charging. That may ignite fast-spreading fires with little warning. In some cases, batteries have erupted in flames whereas positioned near doorways or home windows, generally trapping individuals inside their flats.
For landlords, that has resulted in extra prices from insurance coverage firms involved about the issue, stated Michael Johnson, the communications director for the Group Housing Enchancment Program, which advocates for hundreds of homeowners of rent-stabilized properties in New York.
“Storing the bikes actually isn’t an issue. It’s the battery factor,” Johnson stated. “One of the best answer can be a multi-prong technique for ensuring we’re charging e-bike batteries safely … however I don’t suppose there’s a easy repair.”
Johnson stated the shortage of presidency intervention has led to greater insurance coverage premiums — already an issue in a metropolis with skyrocketing housing and insurance coverage costs. So it shouldn’t be stunning that some landlords would attempt to keep away from permitting the storage of e-bikes on their properties.
“Reasonably priced housing in New York is seeing essentially the most important will increase in insurance coverage premiums, and people are the locations with staff extra prone to have e-bikes,” Johnson stated.
“We don’t view this as a tenant-versus-property-owner situation. We predict the federal government must step in with some degree of coverage to ensure these buildings are secure and the tenants have entry to e-bikes if they should.”
Rules and Security Certifications
Some federal businesses and native governments have begun taking steps to curb e-bike fires by means of regulation.
In September, New York Metropolis banned the sale of uncertified e-bikes and began a trade-in program to offer licensed batteries at no cost or at low value. A 12 months in the past, the U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee referred to as on producers, retailers, and distributors of e-bikes to adjust to requirements from UL Options, which certifies merchandise for security.
However even at bike outlets that solely promote licensed batteries, the worry of fires and fear about landlords has began to influence gross sales, The Gothamist reported.
“We’re preventing uphill towards negativity,” Shane Corridor, who works at Bicycles NYC, stated within the story. “I’ve had some purchasers, sadly, that needed to promote their bikes as a result of the constructing stated, ‘OK, high quality, I’m glad your bike’s secure, however we’re not permitting anyone’s bikes in.’”
What Bike Homeowners Can Do
For customers, guaranteeing their e-bike’s battery has acquired a security certification is step one to stopping a fireplace. Security certification organizations like UL Options permit e-bike makers to incorporate a label exhibiting the product has undergone testing, for instance.
“We would like individuals to buy high-quality units,” Chief Fireplace Marshal Dan Flynn stated in a November launch. “Make sure that they’ve been licensed at a acknowledged testing laboratory similar to UL. Don’t go for the most affordable product.”
If bike producers and authorities officers can’t work out easy methods to regulate the batteries, the hazard of e-bikes will solely enhance, stated Heather Mason, president of the Nationwide Bicycle Sellers Affiliation.
“The bicycle trade must take quick motion,” Mason stated. “If we don’t handle the core situation, we might even see this propel to one thing past our management.”
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