SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The rechargeable lithium battery on an e-bike sparked a fire at a home in San Jose that left one person dead Friday morning.
San Jose police officers responded to reports of a fire in an apartment on Norwalk Drive around 8:30 a.m. Officials said two people were inside when the fire started. One of the people escaped immediately while the other one tried to fight the fire inside.
The person made it out of the apartment moments later but collapsed because of the thick toxic smoke that lithium-ion battery fires produce. The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced dead.
“Lithium-ion battery fires produce thick, toxic smoke within seconds, which can contain carbon monoxide and other highly irritating gases,” fire officials said in a social media post. “Even trained firefighters do not enter smoke-filled environments without proper protective gear and self-contained breathing apparatus, because exposure can be deadly within moments.”…