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Q&A
FDNY's proactive measures and inspections for lithium-ion battery shops
0:22:20
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101 sec
Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn explains the FDNY's proactive approach to inspecting and regulating lithium-ion battery shops, including the establishment of a dedicated task force and their inspection processes.
- FDNY has established a lithium-ion battery task force
- Daily inspections are conducted at commercial locations, addressing both proactive checks and complaints
- Complaints are addressed within 12 hours
- Thousands of inspections and investigations have been conducted
- Repeat offenders may face arrest, as in the case mentioned by Councilmember Schulman
Daniel Flynn
0:22:20
I I could take that.
0:22:21
So so, yes, I'm I'm very familiar with the incident that you referenced there.
0:22:25
We we take it very seriously.
0:22:27
And we reinspect every single time when we do find violations at those locations.
0:22:32
And to answer the question, do we do it proactively or based on complaint all of the above?
0:22:36
We're out there every single day.
0:22:38
We've established a lithium ion battery task force.
0:22:40
Members of BFI along with members of Bureau of Fire Prevention, accompanied by the Department of Consumer And Worker Protection, go out on a daily basis to inspect commercial locations and to address any complaints that are received.
0:22:56
Through 311 or other means.
0:22:58
We we pledged to get out to address any complaints within 12 hours related to a few minor batteries.
0:23:03
We've conducted thousands of these inspections on investigations.
0:23:08
The the arrest that you mentioned, that was a repeat offender.
0:23:12
So he basically Yeah.
0:23:13
Just thumbing his nose at at the law.
0:23:16
We we felt at that point, it was reckless, and it rose to a level of arrest.
0:23:20
And we and we did take action in that in that specific case.
0:23:23
And we have done that in the past as well, and we we would be open to doing that in the future.
0:23:29
The work that we've done so far, I believe, has has made a tremendous difference.
0:23:35
We are making sure that these shops are selling certified batteries, high quality batteries that are not as prone to causing these fires.
0:23:45
We've launched a advertising campaign with the help of the council and the mayor's office.
0:23:51
We spent a $1,000,000 on ads.
0:23:53
We're on the radio every day talking about this.
0:23:55
We're on the subways.
0:23:57
I think the message is getting out, and it's really reflected in our data.