Mackinac Island residents, historic businesses warned of e-bike battery fires

Fire Chief Jason St. Onge met with business owners on historic Mackinac Island in late April to warn them about the potential threat of electric bike battery fires, urging them to take action to reduce the threat to iconic buildings that simply can't be replaced.

"Almost all fire chiefs are concerned," St. Onge told the Detroit Free Press. "There's so little data on why these things are malfunctioning. I'm being as proactive as I possibly can, reading everything I can find. These battery fires are breaking out all across the country. They're catastrophic. These fires are killing people."

'Shooting fire'

The island had two e-bike battery fires last year, St. Onge said. An e-bike battery incident in July in the Harrisonville section of the island burned a home and put the homeowner and two firefighters in the hospital. The homeowner was charging the battery in the kitchen, St. Onge said.

He posted on the Mackinac Island Fire Department's Facebook account July 20 that firefighters were dispatched to a home at 6:49 p.m. and all three people had to be transported to McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey.

"It was the first time in our 204-year history we had firefighters hospitalized overnight," St. Onge told the Free Press. "They had inhalation and respiratory injuries. Deputy Chief Larry Rickley was only 100 yards away when he heard the explosion. He beat all the trucks there and went in without any equipment. He crawled into the building and kicked the battery (charging indoors) out the front door. It was shooting fire."

Last fall, a local resident reported to St. Onge that his e-bike battery caught fire at home and it was contained but the resident wanted the chief to know, he said.

Businesses and local residents are urged not to charge batteries indoors or in hallways or common spaces, and people are heeding the advice, St. Onge said. The Grand Hotel has banned e-bike batteries from its facilities, and Island House is in the process, he said.

Yet island bike rental shops continue to see a growing appetite for e-bikes, he said. Motorized vehicles have been banned on the island for more than a century. But not motorized bicycles. The island is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, a governor-appointed board.

Only Class 1 pedal-assist bicycles are allowed in the state park, along with Amigo-style scooters for persons with disabilities as defined by specific federal law. Steve Brisson, director of Mackinac State Historic Parks, said pedal-assist brings the island into compliance with laws protecting people with disabilities as interpreted by the court decision Bertrand v. City of Mackinac Island.

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Tourist season is just beginning on the island known for its horse-and-carriage rides and bicycles.

"It's no secret we have many 100-plus-year-old buildings made of wood," St. Onge said. "I did speak to the owner of several dormitory housing buildings, and he was quite alarmed and intends to put a ban in his buildings. I mentioned to him that the save-all sprinkler systems are wildly ineffective against these fires. That really changed our conversation."

Mackinac Island Mayor Margaret Dowd, who is often found at the front desk of the Windermere Hotel, has been reelected every year since 1975. She oversees an international tourist destination that attracts an estimated 1 million visitors each year.

"Mackinac Island is so precious and we have to continue to protect it," Dowd said in a statement Monday.

Fatal bike battery fires in New York

Mackinac Island officials are monitoring news nationally, St. Onge said.

New York City, which has seen a spike in e-bike use since the start of the pandemic in 2020, has seen a spate of battery fires. An e-bike powered by a lithium ion battery, being charged near the front entrance of a multifamily building in Astoria, Queens, was blamed for a fire that killed two children who couldn't get out in time, NPR reported April 11.

Including that fire, New York City has had five fire-related deaths involving e-bike blazes, out of 59 total e-bike-related fires this year, NPR reported.

ABC7 in Chicago reported on March 6 that an e-bike battery fire in the Bronx destroyed homes and businesses and injured five firefighters and an emergency medical services responder. More than 200 firefighters and EMS responded.

Late last year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it had received reports of more than 200 incidents since the start of 2021 in which micro-mobility devices such as e-bikes and scooters caught fire or overheated — incidents that led to the deaths of 19 people, NPR reported March 11.

No excuses

St. Onge said people often make excuses for these bike battery fires, saying the equipment was old or defective or bike owners failed to follow protocol.

"It doesn't matter to me. They're blowing up," he said. "The fire we had in July was a factory-made model bike from a reputable brand. It wasn't aftermarket. Then people tell me you can buy bags to put batteries in for charging, to contain if there is an explosion and seal it off. What does that tell you? Your coffee maker doesn't sell those fire bags, and your microwave company doesn't either. If these companies have developed fire bags, it may stop exploding parts but it won't stop noxious gas."

Tim Hygh, executive director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, attended an emergency preparedness training with St. Onge in recent days, learning that batteries shoot flames after they explode and basic sprinkler systems aren't effective on batteries that burn so hot so quickly.

"A fire of that nature could be devastating for downtown. Not only for our businesses, but the lives it could affect. We have employees that live downtown; we have hotels downtown. And we have to do everything we can to keep it as safe as possible," Hygh said. "Knowing the types of fires these bike batteries cause, why take the risk?"

Now Mackinac fire officials carry steel 5-gallon buckets in case of emergency, to put a burning battery, as they can rekindle up to 8 hours later, St. Onge said.

"If Keurig coffee makers were doing this, no one would buy one. You'd say, 'I'm not having that son of a (expletive) in my house,'" St. Onge said. "I mean, I can't stop you from bringing stuff into your home. But this is just mind-boggling to me."

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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mackinac Island fire officials issue warning on e-bike battery fires