A 34-year-old man died in a blaze sparked by a lithium-ion battery that ripped through a Bronx apartment late Thursday — the second death in as many weeks caused by the dangerous devices, officials said.
The fire broke out around 11:50 p.m. on the third floor of the three-story building on Beaumont Avenue near Grote Street in Belmont, about two blocks from the Bronx Zoo, the FDNY said.
The man – whose name was not released pending family notification – was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he could not be saved, according to cops and fire officials.
Photos released by the FDNY show the errant device – which was charging inside an apartment when it exploded into flames – and the moped it was meant to power, kept outside.
“This fire claimed the life of one person, bringing the total number of deaths caused by lithium-ion batteries this year to five,” the department said. “We know New Yorkers depend on these devices for work and transportation – but please charge and store lithium-ion batteries outside where possible.”
Another civilian was transported from the burning building to the same hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the FDNY.
Two firefighters also went to St. Barnabas with minor injuries, the fire department said.
Just over a week earlier, Georgiy Kizyun, 69, was killed when a blaze sparked by a lithium-ion battery trapped him inside a Brooklyn apartment on Oct. 16, according to cops and fire officials.
Two others were injured in the 3:40 a.m. fire that broke out inside the second-floor apartment on Brighton 3rd Street near Brightwater Court in Brighton Beach, where the faulty battery powering a scooter burst into flames, officials said.
The intense flames and heat from the device blocked the exit of his unit in the building, according to FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn.
“We’re messaging that lithium-ion batteries that are unregulated, that you’re buying in places that are unregulated, kill people, and we appreciate the public hearing us, and we will not stop,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said at the scene of that fire.
