FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker Announces Significant Progress in the Battle Against Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

January 8, 2025

The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Commissioner Robert S. Tucker today announced significant progress in the department's battle against lithium-ion battery fires. In 2024, the city had six deaths related to lithium-ion batteries, compared to 18 deaths in 2023, a 67 percent decrease.

"While the FDNY faced increases in both fire and emergency medical service calls in 2024, our department's dedication to fire prevention, education, and outreach has saved lives," said FDNY Commissioner Tucker. "Fire-related fatalities are down by 25 percent compared to last year, with a significant 67 percent reduction in deaths related to lithium-ion batteries. One death is too many, but this progress is the result of enhanced public education, inspection efforts, and greater community engagement. Despite the higher volume of calls, our EMS personnel and firefighters have worked tirelessly to save lives, and their efforts have helped make 2024 a safer year for New Yorkers."

LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES

Since 2021, the FDNY has been sounding the alarm about the threat of lithium-ion batteries. In 2023, the city had 18 fatalities due to lithium-ion batteries. Through consistent safety messaging, inspections, community outreach, and a targeted $1 million ad campaign, the number of deaths caused by these devices in 2024 fell to six.

The FDNY Lithium-ion Battery Task Force inspected 585 e-bike shops in 2024, a 25 percent increase from 2023. They issued 426 FDNY Summons, 138 violation orders, 32 criminal summonses, and issued seven vacate orders with the Department of Buildings.

In 2024, 277 fires were started by lithium-ion battery fires, compared to 268 in 2023. 133 of these fires were non-structural, meaning that they occurred outdoors and not in an apartment, business, or home. In 2023, only 90 fires were non-structural. This decrease indicates that the public is hearing the department's message about storing and charging these devices outside where possible.

FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) OPERATIONS

In 2024, FDNY Fire and EMS operations responded to a combined 2.3 million emergency calls.

FDNY EMS responded to a new record high number of medical emergencies in 2024 - 1,630,446.

EMS responses fall into one of two broad categories - Segment 1-3 which include life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, unconscious and choking calls, and Segment 4-8 incidents which are triaged as non-life-threatening incidents. FDNY EMS responded to 627,599 Segment 1-3 calls in 2024.

There were 2,158 serious fires and emergencies in 2024 compared to 2023, when there were 2,227. Serious fires and emergencies escalate to the point of requiring a full one-alarm assignment or higher (i.e., multiple alarm), consisting of a dozen fire units to respond, conduct search and rescue operations, and extinguish the fire or mitigate the emergency.

CIVILIAN FIRE FATALITIES

Overall, fire deaths are down 25 percent in 2024 compared to 2023. In 2023, 104 people died in fires in New York City. There were 78 fire fatalities in 2024.

The leading cause of fire fatalities was electrical fires, including six lithium-ion related deaths.

FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTIONS

FDNY Fire Protection Inspectors play an important role in protecting people and property in New York City by ensuring that building safety codes are met.

In addition to their work with the Lithium-Ion Battery Task Force, the Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP) completed 194,585 inspections, a 15 percent increase from 2023.

In 2024 BFP issued:

• 45,619 violation orders, a 37 percent increase from 2023.
• 60,917 FDNY summonses, a 19 percent increase from 2023.
• 313 criminal summonses, a 98 percent increase from 2023.

FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY EDUCATION OUTREACH

A top priority of the FDNY is educating the public about fire safety and eliminating residential fire deaths. The Fire Safety Education Unit (FSEU) is specially trained to conduct community outreach and to educate the public with critical lifesaving strategies that focus on fire prevention, with a special focus on the city's most vulnerable populations and at-risk communities.

In 2024, FSEU conducted 3,160 presentations and reached an estimated 508,975 New Yorkers. This is a 37 percent increase in total presentations coordinated compared to 2023.

The Mobile CPR Unit trained a total of 104,277 people, an increase of 55 percent from 2023, with 28 percent of trainees being High School students. Early CPR and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator have been shown to dramatically increase the chance of survival in victims who experience sudden cardiac arrest.

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