Battery fire kills 1, injures 10 at Queens home: FDNY

Investigators are ready to pin the blame on the cause of a deadly Queens house fire overnight that claimed the life of a man in his 60s and injured about a dozen others.

Hell began at about 11 p.m. in the Elmhurst area, quickly engulfing the house on 89th Street in flames and thick smoke. In the video, flames several feet high can be seen erupting from the windows of the building.

A two-alarm response was sent to a three-story apartment building, where injuries eventually rose to double digits. Officials say 10 people were injured, including four firefighters, and one person died.

FDNY investigators believe the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery that may have been used to power an electric bike or scooter. This device was taken from

FDNY members were able to bring the flames under control at Elmhurst just before 1:00 am, but sources say the fire resumed around 2:00 am due to several additional batteries elsewhere in the building.

Incidents of e-bike-related fires have increased in recent years and are being blamed for untold damage across the city.

Last year, battery-powered devices started at least 216 fires, according to fire service statistics. And in 2021, there were about 106 electric bike fires.

The FDNY is urging people to never store e-bikes near an exit or leave a charger unattended overnight.