Fire caused by lithium battery injures 38 in NY

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NEW YORK (AP) – Thirty-eight people were injured, two critically, in a fire at a high-rise apartment building in Manhattan caused by a faulty battery, fire officials said.

The blaze broke out on Saturday in the 37-storey building on East 52nd Street.

Videos posted online showed people hanging out of apartment windows as firefighters used ropes to scale the building and smoke poured out of a window.

At a news conference, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the fire started in a 20th-floor apartment from a lithium battery connected to a micromobility device.