WASHINGTON — The International Association of Fire Fighters is pressing for mandatory safety rules for lithium-ion batteries after a string of deadly fires, including two New York City blazes that killed 10 people in eight days.
The union, which represents professional fire fighters in the United States and Canada, laid out the toll in a Nov. 5 report and called on Congress to finish work on federal battery standards for e-bikes, e-scooters and similar devices.
“Our job is dangerous and the risks are constantly evolving. Policy hasn’t kept pace,” IAFF General President Edward Kelly said.
According to the union, an Oct. 28 fire in an 11th-floor apartment at the Patterson Houses in the Bronx killed four members of one family. Fire officials said an e-bike in the kitchen near the entrance blocked the family’s escape. On Nov. 5, a three-alarm fire at a two-story home on 58th Street in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park killed six people and injured seven, including three fire fighters. Officials said a lithium-ion battery was found at the scene, but the cause remains under investigation, the IAFF said.
Citing the Fire Department of New York, the union said lithium-ion batteries had sparked 401 fires in the five boroughs this year as of late October, up from 292 in all of 2025. Those fires injured 74 people and killed six, compared with 51 injuries and one death last year.
The IAFF is backing the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act, which would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to set a mandatory safety rule for batteries in micromobility devices. The House passed the bill in April 2025, and the Senate version awaits a floor vote, the union said. The commission separately proposed a mandatory standard in June after its staff found voluntary standards fall short; it linked 227 incidents from 2019 to 2023, including 39 deaths, to such batteries. The comment period has closed.
The union also pointed to New York City’s Local Law 39, which since September 2023 has barred the sale or rental of e-bikes, e-scooters and batteries not certified to UL safety standards, and noted that the city’s battery fire deaths fell from 18 in 2023 to one in 2025.
The IAFF urged consumers to buy UL-certified products, use the original charger plugged directly into a wall, avoid charging overnight or while away, keep devices away from exits and never throw batteries in the trash. If a battery catches fire, the union said, people should get out, close the door and call 911.
This report is based on information from the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Source: International Association of Fire Fighters
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