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Fire officials offer warning after person hospitalized in Holyoke e-bike battery explosion
Fire officials reiterated proper safety precautions after a lithium-ion battery pack explosion in Holyoke left a person hospitalized.
A person was injured and several others were displaced after an electric bicycle battery pack exploded in a Holyoke apartment Sunday morning, fire officials said.
At about 4:30 a.m. March 9, firefighters responded to reports of a fire on West Court St., where they observed heavy smoke coming from a two-story townhouse-style apartment building, Holyoke Fire Chief John Kadlewicz and State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in a statement Wednesday.
Investigators determined that the electric bicycle’s lithium-ion battery pack exploded as the owner was attempting to carry it outside, according to the statement.
One person was seriously injured and taken first to Baystate Medical Center and then Massachusetts General Hospital. The building’s other residents escaped unharmed, the statement said.
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Since late 2023, the Department of Fire Services has linked more than 170 fires to lithium-ion batteries, Davine said in the statement.
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“The lithium-ion batteries that power e-bikes and many other devices have caused serious fires when abused, overcharged, overheated, or defective,” Kadlewicz said in the statement. “Please store, charge, and dispose of them safely.”
Fire officials advised against leaving lithium-ion batteries in a hot car, direct sunlight, or freezing temperatures, according to the statement. They also said to not leave charging devices unattended and be sure to charge them on hard, stable surfaces with the charger directly plugged into a wall outlet.
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For safe evacuations, Kadlewicz recommended storing electric bikes and scooters outdoors if possible and away from doors, windows, and stairways if indoors.
“These are your way out in an emergency and the way in for firefighters coming to help,” Kadlewicz said in the statement.
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