Lithium battery triggers New York high-rise fire

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From pv magazine global

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said that a lithium-ion battery – possibly in an e-bike or e-scooter – triggered a blaze in a 37-floor Manhattan apartment building, injuring more than three dozen people, according to the Associated Press. Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn reportedly said there were at least five bikes in the apartment where the fire started. Citywide, nearly 200 blazes and six fire-related deaths this year have been tied to micromobility device batteries, marking “an exponential increase” in such fires in recent years, said Flynn. The FDNY has urged users of such batteries to follow charging and storage instructions, in addition to other safety guidance.

In September a fire broke out in a battery energy storage facility housing a 182.5 MW Tesla Megapack system, where at least one of the battery units caught on fire. The facility is operated by utility PG&E and is located in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The Californian facility is one of the biggest utility-owned, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the world. A Tesla Megapack also caught fire last year in the Victorian Big Battery in Moorabool, Australia.

In June a joint recall was issued with Health Canada, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (US CPSC) and SunVilla Corporation for all 10-foot solar LED Market Umbrellas. The umbrellas have LED lights on the arms of the umbrella that are powered by a lithium-ion battery charged with a small solar panel. The recall was issued after reports of batteries overheating and causing fires in the United States and Canada. In three reported incidents, the solar panels caught fire while charging via the AC adapter indoors.

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