A fire at a day care in New York is being blamed on a lithium-ion battery.
The New York Fire Department responded to the home in Queens around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Firefighters immediately reported that heavy fire was coming from the basement of the building.
"Firefighters removed some pediatric patients from the building, including one from the fire area in the basement," the FDNY said.
The fire was confined to the basement, the fire department reported. Officials said it was under control within 40 minutes.
FDNY reports that they removed a total of 18 children from the building. One of them was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, officials said.
"The other 17 were stable and refused medical attention on the scene," FDNY stated.
Authorities said that they believe the battery was being used on an e-bike that exploded in the basement.
"Lithium-ion batteries, we've been having problems with them the last few years in scooters and bikes and charging them. The mismatch of the batteries and the charging cords and lower-quality batteries," said John Esposito, chief of fire operations for FDNY.
Authorities are reportedly investigating whether the day care was licensed.
