After fire kills 3, NYC officials say retailers, delivery apps must do more to ensure ebike safety

A delivery worker rides a motorised bicycle, July 25, 2023, in New York. On Monday, Nov. 13, New York City officials said that retailers and food delivery companies must do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe ebike and escooter batteries after a fire blamed on an electric scooter's lithium ion battery killed three people over the weekend. — AP

NEW YORK: New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe ebike and escooter batteries, after a fire blamed on an electric scooter’s lithium ion battery killed three people over the weekend.

“There is blood on the hands of this private industry,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a news conference Monday in front of the charred remains of the Brooklyn row house where the early Sunday blaze killed Albertha West, 81, her son Michael West, 58, and her grandson Jamiyl West, 33.