An illegal motorized pedicab parked in a Midtown Manhattan parking garage caused a three-alarm fire after its battery likely exploded on Friday morning. The incident occurred in the basement of a garage near East 54th Street and Madison Avenue, in an area designated for off-duty pedicabs. The fire, which took 145 firefighters about an hour and a half to extinguish, spread to surrounding pedicabs but did not damage any cars. The use of golf-cart-like motors beneath passenger seats, a common practice among pedicab drivers to work longer hours without fatigue, is against city law due to the increased risk of accidents and incidents like this fire. This event follows a similar occurrence in September when a pedicab with an illicit motor overheated and caught fire in Central Park.
https://nypost.com/2015/05/30/illegal-pedicab-bursts-into-flames-sets-off-three-alarm-fire/