A 69-year-old American man died when his home was destroyed by fire. According to The New York Post, an e-scooter in the Brooklyn apartment caught fire due to a faulty lithium-ion battery.
The massive fire that killed the old man and injured two others broke out inside the second-floor apartment on Brighton 3rd Street near Brightwater Court in Brighton Beach. The flames and the heat created by it were so intense that it blocked the exit from the house, resulting in the death of the 69-year-old, as per the news report.
A 32-year-old woman and 35-year-old man who were also home at the time were hospitalised after they tried to douse the flames-aa risky move when dealing with a battery fire, according to Flynn and police.
"So they attempted to extinguish the fire [and] they were able to escape with minor injuries," FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said. "There were two children as well that self-evacuated and did not sustain injuries.
"I strongly recommend you do not attempt to extinguish these on your own," the FDNY official added. "Your conventional fire extinguishers will really not be as effective as they would be in other fires."
A dozen FDNY units, including 60 firefighters and EMS workers, responded to the scene.
"When lithium-ion batteries ignite, it's a much more serious, much more involved fire," FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. "Thankfully, our firefighters were quickly able to stretch hose lines and extinguish the fire before it spread to additional apartments and throughout."
