An 8-year-old girl was killed in a fire Saturday after a lithium battery in her brother’s scooter caught fire inside a College Point apartment (iStock)
Sept. 19, 2022 By Czarinna Andres
An 8-year-old girl was killed in a fire in College Point Saturday when a lithium battery in her brother’s scooter caught fire and tore through the family’s third floor apartment, officials said.
Authorities received a 911 call at 7:38 a.m. that there was a blaze inside a three-story apartment house at 23-26 130 St. Twelve FDNY units responded, consisting of approximately 60 FDNY firefighters.
Firefighters discovered 8-year-old Stephanie Villa Torres unconscious and unresponsive. They also found an 18-year-old male and a 35-year-old male both with burns to their bodies and suffering from smoke inhalation.
EMS transported the 8-year-old to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Queens where she was later pronounced deceased. The two males were transported to NYC Health and Hospitals/Jacobi and are listed in stable condition.
The FDNY brought the fire under control by 8:16 a.m., according to the officials.
The Fire Marshal will determine the exact cause of the fire, although fire officials at this point attribute the blaze to the battery.
Per #FDNY Fire Marshals the cause of this morning’s fatal all-hands fire at 23-26 130 Street in Queens was accidental, caused by a lithium ion battery from an e-mobility device. pic.twitter.com/zU1oamw7rm
— FDNY (@FDNY) September 17, 2022
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