E-Bike Battery Fires in NYCHA Buildings Have Reached 53 Since the Charging Rules Began — and the FDNY Rules Are Specific
Days after the Patterson Houses fire's death toll reached four, the numbers behind it are on the record: 53 battery fires in public housing since NYCHA's charging rules took effect, and 401 lithium-ion fires citywide this year. Here is what the rules actually require.
The fire that killed four people at the Patterson Houses in the Bronx last week was not an anomaly in the city's own counting. Reporting by THE CITY, read by this desk this run, puts e-bike battery fires in New York City Housing Authority buildings at 13 in 2024 and 22 so far in 2026 — 53 in total since the authority's charging-rules policy took effect. Citywide, the count is larger: lithium-ion batteries have caused 401 fires so far this year, with 74 injuries and six deaths, an FDNY official said at the news conference — against 292 fires, 51 injuries and one death last year.
NYCHA chose rules over an outright ban, and the rules are specific. Each household may charge only one battery at a time. Batteries must be safety-certified. No battery may charge in front of an entrance door or anywhere that could block an escape route — the Patterson Houses device, officials said, was charging near the apartment's front door. An adult 18 or older must be awake while a battery charges. Breaking the rules is a lease violation, though the authority's chief executive told reporters its main goal is to keep people housed, and the authority said it mails the FDNY's battery-safety bulletin to every household each year.
The FDNY's own guidance, published on the city's pages, is the checklist the bulletin carries. Use only batteries certified by a nationally accredited testing laboratory such as UL. Charge and store devices outdoors wherever possible. Never use aftermarket chargers or accessories, never charge a battery while you are away or asleep, never use a damaged battery, and never overcharge. Never let a charging device block your exit. And if a battery overheats, gives off an odor, changes shape or color, leaks, or makes noises, stop using it at once and call 911 — the department's full guidance is at FDNYSmart.org.
The enforcement gap is the open question the Patterson Houses fire leaves behind. THE CITY reported that battery charging does not appear on the authority's annual apartment-inspection form, and that staff who spot problems report them verbally to a supervisor. NYCHA said it will provide relocation services to the Patterson Houses family and repair the damaged apartments. The rules, the counts and the checklist are all public now; what the next inspection cycle does with them is the story this desk will keep following.
