FDNY officials throw cold water on Powers’ e-bike storage bill

New York’s lawmakers are continuing their crackdown on lithium-ion batteries used in electric micro-mobility devices, but FDNY leadership has expressed reservations about one bill recently proposed by Council Member Keith Powers, which would mandate that businesses who give their employees electric bikes also provide containers to safely store the bike’s battery when it’s charging. The issue with this mandate, according to FDNY officials, is that the department has yet to find a product that could safely store large lithium-ion batteries and prevent fires.

“We have not yet identified a product that is effective during charging,” Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito told council members, including Powers, during a hearing in front of the Council Committee on Fire and Emergency Management last month. Esposito said that the FDNY is supportive of the concept of safe storage but so far, the only products the department has tested are meant for cellphone and laptop batteries, and these products have failed when tested with larger bike batteries.