The District Department of Transportation suspended Skip's permit to operate electric scooters in Washington, D.C. for 30 days after a fire broke out in the company's basement warehouse in downtwon overnight.
"Today, DDOT suspended Skip’s permit for at least 30 days based on confirmed reports of a battery fire in the company’s DC office," a DDOT spokesperson told News4.
The suspension of the permit requires Skip to remove all scooters and branded vehicles from D.C. streets within 24 hours.
A fire was reported in the scooter company's underground warehouse in downtown D.C. Tuesday night.
D.C. Fire and EMS said they responded to a fire alarm in the 1900 block of K Street NW after midnight in the scooter warehouse charging room.
The fire is believed to have started in a bin of lithium batteries and triggered the building's sprinkler system, causing substantial flooding in the basement.
In a statement to News4 about the fire, Skip said it is fully cooperating in the investigation.
"Our DC warehouse team...is fully cooperating in the investigation. Our deployed fleet continues to be tested against Skip's stringent safety standards," the company wrote in a statement to News4.
"DDOT’s priority is to maintain the safety of the public space and will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days," the spokesperson said.
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The fire comes after a photo of a Skip scooter on fire on the corner of 14th and I streets in Northwest D.C. went viral.
