“It was funny to me, because I never understood gravity until the day it happened to me.”
The explosion of an electric bicycle battery, in August, devoured the apartment where Ala Paredes lived in Queens with her family.
“It was around 4:45 when I was going to bed when I felt the house shake. I had the idea that the United States was at war with Ukraine and I imagined, something they did, something happened,” Paredes said.
It was a new battery, he said, from the bike his uncle had bought four days before.
“And I want to make it clear that the battery was still, it was not charging or anything.”
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His first reaction was to get his wife to safety, who was two weeks away from giving birth.
“We got absolutely nothing,” Paredes said.
But Paredes returned to rescue his dog Roxy.
“I was leaving the door frame when the battery totally blew up.”
An explosion that tore all his belongings to shreds.
“Everything he had bought for the girl stayed in the apartment.”
Paredes says he only received three days of hotel shelter from the city, plus $500.
They did not have home insurance and to top it off, he says that the landlord does not want to return more than 3 thousand dollars of deposit.
According to data from the Fire Department, so far this year lithium-ion batteries have caused more than 20 fires that have killed 4 people, including two brothers ages 7 and 19 last week in Queens .
To keep New Yorkers who use these bikes for work and commuting safe, the City continues to seek solutions through various legislation and collaborations.
The most recent is Uber, which has partnered with Zoomo, an electric bike company, to offer discounts on the purchase of new or certified used bikes for those who want to trade in their old ones.
Meanwhile, seven months after the fire, Paredes uses a gas scooter to move his family forward making food deliveries.
“It’s pure gasoline because we don’t want anything electric,” he said.
Authorities recommend that electric bike batteries have UL safety certification, do not leave them unattended overnight, and do not charge them in places that obstruct exits.
“Be very careful,” Paredes recommended.
