Hillcrest barbershop suffers extensive damage from e

HILLCREST — A fire ignited by a volatile lithium-ion battery attached to an e-bike severely damaged a local barbershop, authorities said Friday.

No one suffered severe injuries in the blaze Thursday evening, police said. Authorities said Hillcrest firefighters, aided by fellow volunteers from Monsey and New City, doused the fire within 10 minutes of arrival at the North Main Street strip mall.

The barbershop, Veloz Cuts, became the single casualty of the fire. One occupant suffered a minor injury exiting the storefront business, Ramapo Sgt. Chris Franklin said.

"The fire was contained to one business and didn't extend into others, but caused some pretty extensive damage," Franklin said.

Authorities said the barber shop is temporarily out of business based on the damage. A person answering the phone at the shop said the owner was not available and only fluently spoke Spanish.

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The e-bike was parked inside the business leaning against the plate-glass window, said Chris Kear, coordinator for the Rockland Fire and Emergency Services. A woman working in the back of the barbershop heard popping sounds and then saw the e-bike on fire, he said, as people then evacuated through the back door. The owner of the bike is not known.

The highly volatile lithium-ion battery uses flammable materials and can catch fire or explode from overheating, overcharging, puncturing, or electrical short circuits, Kear and other authorities said. The lithium battery fires can release toxic vapor that's highly flammable and create its own fuel, ignition, and oxygen.

A lithium-ion battery has caused other fires. A battery inside an electric bike or scooter self-combusted in a Bronx apartment building, sparking a four-alarm fire in January 2022. The Fire Department of New York extinguished the fire in three hours after the ground floor blaze spread. Seven people were injured.

"Lithium-ion battery fires burn hot and very quickly," Franklin said.

Franklin said the Hillcrest fire is not considered suspicious but as a matter of routine is being investigated by the police and the Rockland Sheriff's Office detective with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

E-bikes have grown in popularity across the country, at times competing with cars on the road with some bikers suffering injuries, according to news reports.

Kear said the Hillcrest incident is believed to be the first known fire set off by an e-bike with a lithium-ion battery fire in Rockland.

An estimated 50 firefighters from the three departments responded to the fire, as well as the Rockland County Paramedics Inc., Spring Hill Community Ambulance Corp., and the Ramapo fire inspector.

Kear said the rapid response by Hillcrest firefighters, whose fire station is on North Main St., and other departments kept the fire from spreading to other stores in the strip mall.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at [email protected]. Twitter: @lohudlegal.

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