Fatal Bronx fire sparked by lithium-ion battery, fire officials say

A man died in a Bronx fire Thursday night that FDNY officials say was caused by a lithium-ion battery.

Police and firefighters arrived at the three-story building on Beaumont Avenue and Grove Street – two blocks from the Bronx Zoo – just before midnight. They found a fire on the third floor, and a 34-year-old man unconscious. He later died at St. Barnabas Hospital, police said, and his name was not immediately released.

The death follows a similar incident last week when a 69-year-old grandfather died in his Brighton Beach apartment during a powerful blaze that fire officials determined had also been caused by a charging lithium ion battery. It marks the fifth death this year from a lithium-ion battery-related fire, according to FDNY data.

First responders also took a 56-year-old man to Jacobi Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, but police said he was in stable condition. Two firefighters also had minor injuries, according to the FDNY.

Last year, 18 New Yorkers died as a result of the intense fires that can ignite when the batteries aren’t regulated or charged properly, according to the FDNY, but the city's enforcement and education campaign appears to have dramatically reduced the number of fires so far, with only two months remaining in the year.

A total of 10 people were left homeless by Thursday night’s blaze, and the Red Cross was on scene to help them, police said.

The fire was brought under control by 1:40 a.m.

This story has been updated with new information.