In a strange twist of fate, a fire broke out this week at the Rad Power Bikes retail store warehouse in Huntington Beach, California, Electrek reports. The structural blaze came less than two months after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned customers to “immediately stop” using and dispose of some of the company’s e-bike batteries due to fire hazard. In December, Rad filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, stating it couldn’t afford to recall the batteries.
The recent two-alarm fire hit a commercial complex with multiple businesses. Footage from the fire shows e-bikes outside of the warehouse as firemen fought the blaze. Engadget has reached out to Rad for more information on the fire’s impact.
The CPSC’s November warning told of 31 reports of fire, with 12 of those involving property damage. In some cases, the battery was in storage, not being charged or used, yet still caught fire. The CPSC told customers to get rid of (in a safe, detailed manner) specific models of Rad’s lithium-ion batteries. It claimed that the “hazardous” batteries were at risk of igniting or exploding, even more if wet or interacting with debris.
Rad told the CPSC it couldn’t recall the batteries as it couldn’t afford to offer replacements and refunds. “Rad offered multiple good-faith solutions to address the agency’s concerns, including offering consumers an opportunity to upgrade to Safe Shield batteries (described below) at a substantial discount. CPSC rejected this opportunity,” Rad Power Bikes said in a statement at the time. “The significant cost of the all-or-nothing demand would force Rad to shut its doors immediately, leaving no way to support our riders or our employees.”
The company also said it disagreed with the CPSC’s “characterization of certain Rad batteries as defective or unsafe.” It also pointed to the incident rate being below one percent and stated that all lithium-ion batteries come with a risk when customers do things — such as improper charging and excessive exposure to moisture — that Rad cautions against.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/rad-power-bikes-warehouse-catches-fire-following-flammable-battery-warnings-133056542.html?src=rss
