How to Prevent an Electric

Lithium-ion batteries can be dangerous, but they don't have to be, fire officials say

New York City has had a sharp increase in electric-bike fires over the past couple of years, so fire officials there offer some tips to keep the lithium-ion batteries on the bikes from overheating and catching on fire.

Ownership of electric bikes has skyrocketed in New York since the pandemic began, and with it, electric-bike fires, according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). There were more than 100 e-mobility device fires in 2021—about double the year before—and as of Oct. 21, 2022, there have been 174, officials said. The fires have caused 93 injuries and six deaths this year.

Source: FDNY Source: FDNY

When the fires began ramping up last year, Daniel Nigro, then the FDNY commissioner, said that the problem hadn't started with lithium-ion battery-powered phones but with the proliferation of electric bikes.

Of course, electric bicycles are nothing new in America's most populous city—delivery workers there have been whizzing around on them for years now. But around the rest of the country, the rise in electric-bike sales is tantamount to a craze, growing 240 percent nationally in 2021, according to NPD, a firm that tracks the bicycle industry.

"The e-bikes people are buying now are probably a lot newer and better technology than some of the older stuff that delivery riders in the city have been using and abusing for years," says Adam Vale Da Serra, manager of Cutting Edge bike shop in Berlin, Conn. "I’ve heard nothing locally about e-bike fires among mountain bikes and road bikes."

Read our investigation into electric bike fires and lithium-ion batteries, ’’Fire! Fire! Fire!’ The Perplexing, Deadly Electric Bike Problem."

Source: FDNY Source: FDNY

Follow these electric-bike safety tips from the FDNY. The same advice applies to any device powered by a lithium-ion battery, whether it's a phone, tablet, or robotic vacuum cleaner.

FDNY officials also say that when you need to dispose of a used rechargeable or lithium-ion battery, it's illegal in many places (including New York City) to throw one out with the regular trash or recycling. Old batteries should be taken to a facility that recycles batteries. Learn more about battery recycling.

"You can find lithium-ion batteries in all sorts of products today that didn't have them before," says William Wallace, CR's manager of safety policy. "As technologies advance and help people in their daily lives, it's critically important for all manufacturers—including those that make e-bikes—to comply with battery safety standards and have products tested by a third party."

See our e-bike ratings and buying guide.

Benjamin Preston

Benjamin Preston has been a reporter with the Consumer Reports autos team since 2020, focusing on new and used car buying, auto insurance, car maintenance and repair, and electric bikes. He has covered cars since 2012 for the New York Times, Time, the BBC, the Guardian, Road & Track, Car and Driver, Jalopnik, and others. Outside CR, he maintains his own small fleet of old cars and serves as a volunteer firefighter, specializing in car crash response and vehicle extrication.