Truck Transporting Lithium Ion Batteries and E-Bikes Explodes
A truck full of E-bikes caught fire July 5, prompting an FDNY hazmat unit to respond to the scene.
| 07 Jul 2026 | 04:07
FDNY responded to a call about a truck fire in Chelsea at 3:11 p.m. on July 5 and discovered e-bikes with lithium ion batteries had erupted. (
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One of the JOCO e-bikes pulled from the back of the cargo truck. (
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About a half dozen charred JOCO e-bikes were pulled from the back of the cargo truck where the fire erupted on July 5. (
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The truck that was transporting the e-bikes in its cargo hold appeared to be a total loss after firefighters extinguished the blaze. (
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A potentially dangerous fire on a Chelsea street corner was extinguished by FDNY when a truck transporting JOCO e-bikes and lithium ion batteries exploded on July 5.
The unoccupied truck was parked on 264 West 23 St. between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.
At least a half dozen bikes belonging to JOCO, the urban e-bike delivery company, were pulled from the back of the truck. .
FDNY received the call at 3:11 p.m. and since the lithium ion batteries can be extremely hazardous in a fire situation, hazmat units responded. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries. Fire marshals have been notified and are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.
FDNY said it cannot release the names of people involved in any operation. Chelsea News reached out to JOCO to find out why the e-bikes were in the back of the cargo truck but had not received a response by press time. JOCO has a huge parking lot on West 29th St. near Eighth Ave. where deliveristas store e-bikes while off duty but it is not clear if there was a connection between the parking lot of bikes and the truck transporting e-bikes which was parked about five blocks away.
Satish Shahi, a roving photographer for Straus News, captured photographs of the incident and shared them above.
There are strict standards governing the sale and use of lithium ion batteries in New York City. Since September 16th, 2023, all battery-powered mobility devices, like electric bicycles, electric scooters, and the lithium-ion batteries these devices use, that are sold, leased, or rented in New York City are required to be certified by an accredited testing laboratory in compliance with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards.
Raging fires from lithium ion batteries caused 18 deaths across the city in 2023, including eight in Manhattan. The number of deaths has fallen as the city took measures to enforce new stricter standards.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said there was only one death caused by a lithium ion battery in 2025 when a July 4 fire from an e-bike battery broke out at a pizzeria in Queens, trapping a 76-year-old woman in a bathroom. The previous year there were six deaths attributed to the explosive batteries.
The FDNY, in a public service released last year said the batteries continue to pose a threat and reminded New Yorkers to charge and store lithium-ion batteries and micromobility devices wherever outside whenever possible. Safety information is available at FDNYSmart.org.
The FDNY did not release any further information on whether the exploding batteries in the back of the cargo truck were UL approved or not but said fire marshals are continuing the investigation. The cargo truck containing the bikes appeared to be a total loss.