Flynn seeks hearing on lithium-ion battery fires from e-bikes and scooters

E-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards run on lithium-ion batteries, and when those batteries fail indoors the fires can be fast and hard to put out. City Councilor Ed Flynn wants the City Council to look at whether Boston should regulate them.

Flynn filed an order for a hearing on public safety and storage issues with lithium-ion batteries in micromobility devices (docket 2050). It is on the agenda for the council's Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting.

If you live in an apartment building, the concern is practical: a neighbor charging a battery in a hallway or bedroom can put the whole building at risk.

What prompted it

The order points to a July two-alarm fire in Roxbury caused by an electric scooter battery on the 20th floor of a building, which it says forced at least 40 residents out and sent three people to the hospital, and quotes Boston Fire Chief Brian Tully saying such fires cause a chain reaction and are hard to extinguish. A July high-rise fire in Boston sparked by an e-scooter battery injured two people, and hazmat crews helped remove the burnt scooter, WCVB reported. In April, state fire officials issued an alert after e-bike batteries started fires in two homes on back-to-back days, and advised storing e-bikes and scooters outside, Boston.com reported.

The order says Boston has not introduced legislation regulating the sale, operation or disposal of these batteries and relies on state environmental rules and consumer outreach. It points to New York City's 2023 Local Law 39, which requires micromobility devices sold or leased there to meet UL safety standards, and says injuries and deaths there have fallen since. It also cites San Francisco's June 2026 ban on uncertified batteries and an Illinois law, effective Jan. 1, 2026, requiring manufacturers to fund free battery recycling.

What our records show

• The fire department's count. At a May 11 budget hearing, a Boston Fire Department official told councilors the department was responding to more small battery fires, and that by his tracking there had been 16 fires caused by micromobility lithium-ion batteries (watch at 2:15:36). He said the department planned a free lithium battery take-back event in July at its Special Operations warehouse on Livermore Street, and was working with businesses on storage (2:16:17).
• The Bluebikes vote. On Oct. 21, Flynn and City Councilor Erin Murphy voted against accepting a $3.25 million grant for 887 Bluebikes e-bikes, which passed 10-2. Flynn said then that the batteries deserved more scrutiny; another councilor noted that Bluebikes e-bikes are pedal-assist and the slowest class of e-bike (our story).
• Who filed it. Flynn is the only sponsor listed so far. He filed three other orders for the same meeting, on a South Boston block party, the O'Connor Way bike lane and South Boston public safety.

What's next

The order is expected to be referred to a committee Wednesday. The order does not name departments to testify. Any local rule on battery sales or storage would require a separate ordinance; none has been filed. For now, the state's fire safety advice is to store e-bikes and scooters outside where possible.