A two-alarm fire tore through La Roka Barber Shop on West Burnside Avenue in Morris Heights Thursday night, injuring five people and leaving two of them in critical condition. The blaze broke out around 9:40 p.m., charring the shop and spreading debris across the sidewalk outside.
The fire critically injured a 39-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man, both hospitalized in critical condition, according to WABC-TV. Three other men, ages 49, 51 and 52, were hospitalized in stable condition. La Roka Barber Shop sits at 31 West Burnside Avenue, directly next door to Ming Wong Chinese Restaurant, according to Fresha, and that restaurant was also damaged by the fire.
Customer Rushed Toward the Flames After Hearing Screams
Eyewitness News reported that a barbershop customer rushed toward the fire after hearing a woman screaming, and tried to help her. By the time firefighters had the flames under control, the barbershop itself was left completely charred, the station reported.
FDNY fire officials remained at the scene into the following hours, assessing the extent of the damage to both the barbershop and the adjoining restaurant space. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and officials have not said whether Thursday night's blaze is connected to the two electric scooters recovered from the scene.
Scooters Recovered as Battery Fires Remain a Citywide Concern
Investigators have not disclosed whether the scooters were charging at the time the fire broke out, whether they met the certification standards required under NYC's Local Law 39, or whether the barbershop complied with Fire Code Section FC 309 rules governing indoor storage of battery-powered micromobility devices — all open questions in the case so far. Local Law 39, enacted in September 2023, bars the sale, lease, or rental of e-bikes, scooters, or lithium-ion batteries in New York City unless they carry certification from an accredited testing lab under Underwriters Laboratories standards.
Companion measures, Local Laws 49 and 50, took effect in October 2024 and gave the FDNY and the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection expanded power to padlock repeat-offender businesses that store, lease, or sell uncertified batteries and scooters, with fines reaching up to $1,000 per illegal unit. Fire Code Section FC 309 separately requires that any commercial or residential space charging multiple battery-powered devices have fire-rated enclosures, automatic sprinklers, and early smoke detection systems in place.
The recovery of two electric scooters inside a Morris Heights storefront fits a pattern seen across the city, where barbershops, delis, and restaurants often store or charge such devices indoors despite the risks in older, tightly packed commercial corridors. FDNY data shows structural fires caused by lithium-ion batteries rose 53 percent in early 2025 compared with the year before, even as battery-related deaths fell from 18 in 2023 to six in 2024 thanks to public education efforts. A March 2025 study by UL Standards & Engagement and Oxford Economics found e-mobility battery fires caused $518.6 million in property damage and economic losses across New York City between 2019 and 2023, following an 800 percent surge in such incidents over that span.
West Burnside Corridor Has Seen Fire Danger Before
Morris Heights is a densely populated West Bronx neighborhood within Community District 5, patrolled by the NYPD's 46th Precinct, with West Burnside Avenue serving as one of its primary retail strips. The corridor has faced fire danger before: a June 2021 commercial fire along the same avenue injured 11 firefighters and destroyed multiple storefronts, underscoring how quickly flames can spread through the area's older attached buildings.
A partial building collapse at West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place in December 2023 later prompted the City Council to pass the Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity Act in June 2024, creating a predictive inspection program for aging structures in the area. New York State has also moved on the issue, enacting a 2024 legislative package that banned the sale of non-compliant lithium-ion batteries, required operating manuals at point of sale, and set state penalties of up to $1,000 for illegal battery sales.
No further details on the cause of Thursday night's fire have been released, and FDNY officials have not indicated when their investigation will conclude.
