The battery for an electric bike is suspected of starting a house fire in Yonkers on Sunday.

Fire officials say a basement apartment caught fire on 27 Bruce Ave. around 10: 45 a.m.  Investigators found a burned and charred electric bike, and say the lithium battery was still hot 20 minutes after they put out the flames. "The battery pack was in flames, and it spread to some stuff on top of the bike; and it started spreading to other areas in the apartment," says Yonkers Fire Department Assistant Chief Cucolo.

Two people in the apartment were unable to escape from the basement windows and had to be rescued by firefighters.  The two people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Cucolo says the building was not up to code, and the windows should have been larger.