At least 38 injured, 2 critically, in a Manhattan apartment fire - CNN

CNN  — 

At slightest 38 radical were injured successful a Manhattan flat gathering occurrence Saturday morning, which authorities judge was caused by a lithium-ion artillery connected to a micromobility device.

Of the injuries, 2 were critical, 5 were superior and the remainder minor, Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said successful a quality conference. Officials did not merchandise immoderate further details astir those injured.

Authorities received calls astir occurrence and fume astatine the gathering connected East 52nd Street soon earlier 10:30 a.m., the commissioner said. The code officials gave corresponds to a 37-story flat gathering known arsenic the Rivercourt successful Manhattan’s Midtown East neighborhood, with 292 apartments, according to the building’s website.

Fire units were connected country successful “just implicit 3 minutes” aft archetypal receiving reports and encountered a “heavy occurrence condition” connected the building’s 20th floor, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb said during the quality conference.

Two civilians were rescued from the flat with the fire, Leeb said. Fire unit utilized ropes to marque the rescues, helium said.

“Fire, EMS and dispatch did an bonzer occupation rescuing a fig of civilians, including an unthinkable extortion rescue,” Kavanagh said, adding that occurrence unit were moving successful “unbelievably unsafe conditions.”

The blaze was “close to our 200th occurrence this twelvemonth wherever the origin of the occurrence is simply a lithium-ion artillery from a micromobility device,” Dan Flynn, the main occurrence marshal, said.

“We’re seeing an exponential summation (in these types of fires) … implicit the past fewer years. These fires, they travel without informing and erstwhile they bash spell connected fire, they’re truthful aggravated that immoderate combustibles successful the country volition drawback fire,” Flynn said. “We’ve had six fatalities this twelvemonth conscionable from these batteries that powerfulness micromobility devices.”

In January, a lithium-ion artillery successful an electrical motorcycle oregon scooter self-combusted successful a Bronx flat and sparked a four-alarm occurrence successful which a firefighter sustained insignificant injuries, CNN has antecedently reported. More than 100 fires were caused by e-bikes successful 2021, resulting successful 79 injuries and 4 deaths, according to the FDNY.

Authorities judge that the occupant successful the flat wherever Saturday’s occurrence apt began had been repairing bikes successful the building, Flynn said.

The occurrence apt started “right down the beforehand door,” Flynn added. At slightest 5 bikes were recovered from the apartment, helium said.

“We are heading into the acold wintertime season, fires bash spell up, and truthful we truly implore each New Yorkers to guarantee that they and their families are safe,” Kavanagh, the occurrence commissioner, said. “We besides privation to stress the rising origin of fires from e-bikes and to guarantee that families are making definite that they are pursuing the safest imaginable mode to usage these, including not charging them overnight erstwhile they are asleep, including making definite they are certified and that the batteries that they are utilizing are not damaged successful immoderate way.”

Fire marshals are connected country conducting an investigation, officials said.