Ticking time bombs.  Lithium-ion batteries can be ticking time bombs, and it’s leaving people on edge across the country.  The fires start without warning, spread fast, and burn for a long time. 

It’s a threat that’s left scores of people dead.^[1] And you don’t even have to own one to fear being harmed by one.  People in apartment buildings are worried that their neighbor’s e-bike could burn down the entire building.  And that’s not a hypothetical concern…it’s happening.  A fire broke out on the 20th floor of a 37-story New York apartment building.  It hurt 43 people, and for those living in floors above the fire, firefighters had to repel down from the roof to save them through their windows.^[2] 

Today, CPSC did something about it.  We advanced a proposed solution to the deadly lithium-ion battery fires that have terrified the nation.  Any delay would have condemned more Americans to gruesome deaths.  So, it wasn’t a close call—it was our duty to advance this rule.  And in doing so, we’ve answered the call for action that’s been coming from consumers, fire fighters, bipartisan members of Congress, and even the industry that makes these batteries for e-bikes, e-scooters, and hoverboards. 

            Why is a CPSC rule so overwhelmingly popular? It’s because nobody wants see more tragedy if we can stop it.  Just last month, happy, healthy, twin 6-year-old girls went to sleep in their home in San Leandro, California.  One of those girls never saw the morning.  The fire that burned down their house claimed her life, along with the lives of her grandmother, and her great-grandmother.^[3]Three generations of that family were lost.  The kind of unimaginable pain that family is reeling from must be stopped.  Today, I proudly voted to stop it and I am proud that a solution is moving forward.

   The solution we advanced today would make lithium-ion batteries safer in e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards, and similar products.  Requirements would include:

• Battery management systems would prevent charging or discharging when the battery’s temperature is too hot to safely charge or when limits are exceeded on cell voltage or current;
• Protections to ensure safe operation after wear and tear; 
• Protection against incompatible chargers that could trigger fires; and 
• Making battery packs tamper-resistant, so that people cannot open them and swap cells, which can lead to fires.  To accomplish this, they will have to be both ultrasonically welded and unable to be opened with common household tools. 

We still need your help to strengthen these protections even further. In the next few days, a comment period will open up and it will stay open for the next two months.  We’re looking for comments from fire departments and from the public.  Fire departments are in the best position to share information on lithium-ion battery fires in their jurisdiction, and I would welcome that information.  And I am also particularly interested in thoughts on whether we should include:

• “Check battery” indicators.  Like the “check engine” light in a car, a “check battery” light on the bike itself could act as an early warning system to indicate when a battery or any of its cells is unstable and at risk of failure.      Would this be a useful addition, particularly for situations where people are using aftermarket batteries in their bikes?  
• Automatic shut-offs in both the batteries and the chargers.  The battery management systems in batteries should automatically shut off while charging when there is a fire risk.  But not all consumers use the original charger or battery that came with their e-bike.  Would adding an auto shut-off to the chargers, as well, add another valuable layer of protection, in case consumers are unknowingly using a battery without a working battery management system?  
• Focus on the state of battery health.  Under the proposal, batteries would have to shut down when limits for voltage, current, or temperature are exceeded.  Should they also check the state of health of the battery, including degradation and damage, as another means to alert consumers of possible danger before it is too late?
• Fire-proof identification plates.  Lithium-ion battery fires are incredibly destructive.      In their aftermath, it is often very difficult for fire investigators to identify the products that may have caused the fire because they are completely destroyed.      Could identification plates be affixed to the products that could survive the fire and help investigators determine their cause?

Even in the most challenging of times, CPSC is still driving forward safety solutions for the American people.

Yours in Safety, 

Richard L. Trumka Jr. 

[1] CPSC Staff Briefing Package, Safety Standard for Lithium-Ion Batteries Used in Micromobility Products and Electrical Systems of Micromobility Products Containing Such Batteries (Mar. 26, 2025), available at https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Package-Corrections-to-Draft-Proposed-….

[2] Dave Carlin, FDNY: Lithium-ion battery caused fire on 20th floor of Midtown high-rise, dozens injured, CBS News (Nov. 6, 2022), https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/midtown-manhattan-high-ris…. 

[3] Anser Hassan, Family confirms 6-year-old twin, grandma and great-grandma died in San Leandro house fire, ABC 7 News (Mar. 14, 2025), https://abc7news.com/post/san-leandro-fire-family-confirms-6-year-old-t….