A devastating Bronx apartment fire blamed on an e-bike battery has claimed the lives of four family members, with three victims dying days after the blaze, officials said.
The fire broke out at about 12:50 a.m. Wednesday in the kitchen of an 11th-floor apartment at NYCHA’s Patterson Houses. Residents became trapped after the burning e-bike blocked their only exit, according to the FDNY.
A 10-year-old boy, identified in reports as Zion Maine, was the first victim to die.
Four family members were taken to the hospital in critical condition. On Friday, three of them — two boys, ages 15 and 16, and a 33-year-old woman — died from their injuries, officials said.
Family members told the Daily News that Zion and the two older boys were half-brothers.
The older teen was identified as Jamaree Adam, while the woman who died was his mother, Syida Adam, the newspaper reported.
Syida was the girlfriend of Zion’s 37-year-old father, Courtney, who remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Fire officials said the e-bike turned the family’s apartment into a deadly trap.
“An e-bike was placed in the pathway of the exit door,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore told reporters early Wednesday.
“It was placed at a spot in the kitchen that made it impossible for the residents to leave safely.”
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said firefighters were forced to break open the apartment’s front door because the burning e-bike and battery were blocking it.
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“When that door opened, it opened into a heavy fire,” Esposito recalled.
“The e-bike and the kitchen were right inside that door.”
“There was a victim behind the door that they quickly removed and was transported to the hospital.”
Zion was also rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, but doctors were unable to save him, authorities said.
“He loved basketball,” a neighbor close to the family said of the boy.
“He was young, vibrant, funny, very energetic. He would shock you sometimes with the things he says,” the neighbor told The Post.
The boy was especially fond of flavored ice popsicles, which his mother gave him “all week, every week,” the neighbor said.
Zion was quiet and never went “around looking for no trouble,” said neighbor Cynthia Ayala, 32.
“He stay out people’s way,” she added. “He don’t be in trouble, it’s not like he was a bad [kid].”
Courtney reportedly worked at a car wash and made a modest living for the family.
Another neighbor who identified himself as Tony told The Post the boy’s father “worked at the car wash, making a little bit of money for his family.”
“We all have cookouts out here, we all hang out,” he added. “The 11th floor is a tight knit floor, we like family.”