A fire in the Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood of Queens that erupted Wednesday afternoon injured 18 children, according to the FDNY.

FDNY officials say a lithium-ion battery caused the fire.

The "heavy" fire broke out at a two-story residential house on 72nd Drive a few minutes after 2 p.m., John Esposito, the FDNY's chief of fire operations, said Wednesday afternoon. The fire occurred in the basement, and it was under control in about 40 minutes.

The basement was used for two commercial businesses, a daycare and dental lab, according to Ryan Degan, the deputy press secretary for the city's Department of Buildings.

The department issued violations for "work that was done without a permit and for occupancy that was contrary to city records," they said in a statement Wednesday evening. They also issued a full vacate order on the building "in the interest of public safety and due to the severe extent of the damage from the fire."

All residents displaced by the fire will be offered emergency relocation services from the American Red Cross, according to the Department of Buildings.

After the fire, the 18 children were taken to various hospitals for evaluation. FDNY officials say that one of the children is in critical condition, and the other children all had minor injuries.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire, but a lithium-ion battery was found on the scene and "caused" the blaze, the FDNY said on Instagram Wednesday evening.

Lithium-ion batteries sparked 60 fires across the five boroughs between Jan. 1 and May 3 of last year, FDNY statistics show. That was a 233% increase from the same period in 2021, when there were 18 fires.