Bronx, New York: Boy Dies and Four Others Are Critical After Fire in a Patterson Houses Apartment

Updated 15:03 UTC

The FDNY has now confirmed that the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery, the New York Post reported in an updated account, and FOX 5 New York reported the same finding in its headline, citing the FDNY. The earlier reports from the scene had found a battery in the apartment but had not established the cause. Neighbors told the Post that the family charged an e-bike in their kitchen. The Post reported that all five victims suffered burn injuries and inhaled smoke, and that a makeshift memorial of candles and a plush bear has been left at the scene. Sources told WABC that the boy who died was between 12 and 16 years old. The four people still in critical condition are a 15-year-old boy, a 37-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman and an unidentified male, the Post reported. No names have been released by officials.

A boy has died and four other people are in critical condition after a fire broke out early on Wednesday in an apartment at the Patterson Houses in the Bronx, according to reports from the scene. The fire started in an 11th floor apartment at 320 Morris Avenue, in the Mott Haven section of the borough. The New York Post, citing the FDNY, said about 130 fire and EMS personnel were sent to the building just after 12:50 a.m.

Five people rescued from the 11th floor

Firefighters rescued five people from the fire, two adults and three boys. WABC reported that the five are believed to be members of the same family, and the Post noted that the FDNY did not confirm that relationship. NBC New York, citing police, described the boy who died as a teenager. None of the reports named any of the five people. The one age given was for the woman, who is 33.

The fire was under control by 2:05 a.m., the Post reported. NBC New York said hazmat resources were also sent to the building because a lithium-ion battery was present.

Three hospitals, four patients still critical

All five patients were taken from the building in critical condition, and they were spread across three hospitals. One boy died after he was taken to Jacobi Hospital, the Post reported. Another boy was in critical condition at the same hospital. A third boy was taken to Harlem Hospital, also in critical condition.

The two adults went to Lincoln Hospital. The Post identified them as a man and a 33-year-old woman, and said both were in critical condition there. No report described any of the four survivors as stable or improving.

A battery at the scene, and a cause still unknown

A lithium-ion battery was found at the scene, but the Post said it is not clear whether the battery caused the fire. NBC New York gave the same caution in different words, reporting that hazmat crews were deployed for the presence of a battery while the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The reports establish where the fire started and what happened to the five people inside. They do not establish how the fire began. Any finding on the cause will have to come from the investigation that was still open when these reports were filed.

The building on Morris Avenue

320 Morris Avenue is one of the addresses of the Patterson Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex in Mott Haven, in the South Bronx. The rescue drew a large overnight response, about 130 fire and EMS personnel, to a residential street while most of the complex was asleep.

Until officials release a cause, the record stands as the fire service and police gave it on Wednesday morning: one boy dead, four people critical, a battery found at the scene, and no cause yet stated.