NEW YORK — An e-bike shop in Queens went up in flames on Wednesday night, a New York Fire Department official said.

Investigators believe the fire started around 2:30 a.m. when a lithium-ion battery exploded in the store on Jamaica Avenue in the Richmond Hill neighborhood.

The video shows a pile of charred and bent bicycles after the fire.

“This is not the first incident at this facility,” said George Healy, deputy chief of the New York City Fire Department. “It was very similar. I believe in this back area they do maintenance on some of this equipment and store it for sale… The city has policies. They have laws for the sale and storage of this equipment and as long as they comply with city policies, they are a business operating within the law.”

The previous fire occurred in the summer of 2023, officials said.

The New York City Department of Buildings is currently investigating whether residents of the surrounding buildings can return to their homes. An illegal basement apartment connected to the business has also been discovered, the Department of Buildings said.

A firefighter was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Over 100 battery fires in NYC in 2024

Lithium-ion batteries are blamed for numerous fires in New York City.

The FDNY said it had investigated over 100 lithium-ion battery fires in 2024. At least 50 people were injured in the fires, city data says.

At the beginning of the month a man died of injuries sustained in a lithium-ion battery fire in Brooklyn. Three other people were injured in the fire in Midwood on 27 June.

In February, 27-year-old Fazil Khan died in another lithium-ion battery fire in a Harlem apartment building. Seventeen other people were injured and dozens were left homeless.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed law This year’s goal was to ban dangerous lithium-ion batteries from the streets and from households.