38 people injured in fire on New York City apartment building

New York, SANA- At least 38 people were injured in a Manhattan apartment building fire Saturday morning, which authorities believe was caused by a lithium-ion battery connected to a micromobility device.

Of the injuries, two were critical, five were serious and the rest minor, Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a news conference.

The blaze was “close to our 200th fire this year where the cause of the fire is a lithium-ion battery from a micromobility device,” Dan Flynn, the chief fire marshal, said.

“We’re seeing an exponential increase (in these types of fires) … over the last few years.

These fires, they come without warning and when they do go on fire, they’re so intense that any combustibles in the area will catch fire,” Flynn said. “We’ve had six fatalities this year just from these batteries that power micromobility devices.”

Source: CNN

Manar Salameh/ Ruaa al-Jazaeri