brooklyn(Brooklyn) a motorcycle shopChinese manHe was recently arrested by law enforcement for improperly handling and selling lithium batteries and seriously violating fire regulations. This is the first time that someone in New York City has been arrested and criminally charged for violating laws related to motorcycle lithium batteries.
The City Fire Department recently announced that firefighters arrived at the electric bicycle shop at 1239 Flatbush Avenue at noon on the 12th and arrested a Chinese man, Tian Liang Liu (transliteration), in the store and led him away in handcuffs. Liu Tianliang was charged with the crime of endangering the safety of others (reckless endangerment) and violating fire regulations due to unsafe storage and charging of lithium batteries. Law enforcement officials did not specify whether Liu Tianliang was the owner or employee of the motorcycle store.
Fire Department inspectors found numerous violations at the store, including improper storage of lithium batteries, charging batteries in an unsafe manner that could explode, and selling illegal, uncertified lithium batteries. Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn said he had visited the store three times before and each time the same person provided services, and he was well aware that his actions were reckless and negligent. So they arrested him that day.
A series of fires caused by lithium batteries has become a major safety issue of concern for city officials. In February, the City Council passed legislation allowing city officials to shut down businesses that were repeatedly caught selling illegal lithium batteries.
The fire department will also take similar enforcement action against other stores that have unsafe lithium batteries and have received warnings. City Fire Chief Laura Cavanagh said, “Unfortunately, we have seen that lithium batteries, especially uncertified lithium batteries, can explode and cause casualties.”
Since 2019, there have been more than 660 fires caused by motorcycle lithium batteries in the city, resulting in a total of 28 deaths and more than 400 injuries. The most recent tragedy occurred in February of this year, when a unit on the third floor of an apartment building in Harlem caught fire due to the explosion of a motorcycle lithium battery, killing 27-year-old Hechinger Report reporter Fazil Khan. Firefighters eventually discovered that there were six delivery men living in the apartment, and they all used motorcycles.
May 2023, ManhattanChinatownFollowing a lithium-ion battery fire in a motorcycle shop and the death of four residents living above the building, the city fire department began conducting random inspections of motorcycle shops across the city.
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