Seven patients were transported to local area hospitals on Saturday evening following a residential fire in a Bedford Park, 5-story building which several residents believe was caused by an e-bike.

 

One young resident, who still appeared to be in shock, told us of how his dad climbed up the fire escape and broke in the window of their apartment from the outside to rescue the young teen and his mother.

The FDNY said they receved a call at 5.54 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, for a report of residential fire in an occupied multiple dwelling  at 15 East 199th Street between Jerome Avenue and the Grand Concourse (50 x 110). They said one patient was treated at the scene, one refused medical attention, and seven were transported to local area hospitals. Their respective conditions are unknown, according to fire officials.

 

An FDNY spokesperson said 12 units comprising 60 fire and EMS personnel responded to the blaze, which the FDNY initially said was on the third floor but later said, “Fire was located on the 2nd floor in apartment 1C. The door to the fire apartment (1C) was left open and smoke spread throughout the building.”

 

FDNY officials said the fire was brought under control at 7.26 p.m.  Fire marshals are investigating the cause and said e-bikes were found at the scene.

Residents Shermaine Lewis and Terrel Moore who live on the fourth floor spoke to us outside the building while firefighters were still working on extinguishing the fire. They said at the time they believed the fire started on the first floor.

 

“We were just in the house, and we heard the smoke detector going off, and I was like, ‘Something’s on fire,'” Lewis said. “I thought it was from my oven or something and I went looking and I said, ‘No, it’s not in here,’ and I opened my door and there was a whole bunch of smoke, and I couldn’t even see and that was it! Had to go in my back room and they came ..the fire department. Well, my son climbed down. I wasn’t going to do it, but until I got to the last one, and they came down and got us, and that’s it. But I don’t know how it started.”

Lewis said they escaped down the fire escape at the side of the building, adding that she didn’t see any flames, just lots of smoke. “You couldn’t breathe,” she said. “Like, it smelled like plastic was burning, a lot of plastic, and it really was burning my throat, because I got asthma and it was terrible.”

 

Celeste, another resident, said she’s the only resident who lives in the basement apartment and got out through the back exit. She said she wasn’t initially sure where the fire was located. “I closed the door, and then I said, ‘Okay, it is here [in her own building] because somebody’s telling me, like, ‘Get out! It’s in the building!'”

She continued, “When I opened the door, I saw the smoke coming like through the hallway and you cannot go in the hallways and down there. It was too full of smoke. You can’t see. So what I did was I don’t let my house get burned. I disconnected every appliance, totally, everything, and then I closed the door behind me. I took my dog and I took my baby out.  I’m just worried about whoever got hurt.”

 

Tanisha who lives on the first floor, said, “All I know is I was watching TV and I heard someone yelling in a hallway. So, I’m thinking it’s like somebody probably overdosed, or something happened, and then I started smelling something and it smelled like a rubber smell, like an electric smell.”

She continued, in part, “The next thing you know the smoke outside just got a foggier and foggier and foggier and then we had the firefighters. I don’t know what the cause was, but I knew I smelled something and it didn’t smell right. Lo and behold, it was right next door to me [on the first floor].”

 

Tanisha added, “Hopefully, everything will come out [regarding the cause of the fire]. Asked if she saw flames, she said, “No, I just saw a lot of smoke and glasses breaking.” Asked how she escaped, she said down the fire escape. “My first time ever in life; it was scary.” Asked if the bars of the fire escape were hot, she said no as the fire escape was on the other side of the building to where the fire was.

 

Asked if they had regular fire drills in the building, Tanisha said, “No.” Asked if there were instructions on what to do in the event of a fire posted inside the building, she said, “Honestly, no. I mean they should do better honestly speaking, because it’s just to be aware, to be alive in certain situations, especially people with dogs. Going down a fire escape…. it’s a lot, it’s a lot.”

Asked if there was a lot of chaos or if people generally knew what to do, she said, “Not really. We just all worked as a community and just got out together. As long as we’re all safe and good, that’s what matters.” Asked if she had a pet, as there were many people seen with their pets outside on the street, she said, “Yeah, I have a dog.”

 

We contacted the Red Cross to ask if any residents needed to be rehoused as quite a lot of damage was seen inside the buildings with several windows broken, blackened walls and floors, and the stench of smoke still apparent.

Desiree Ramos Reiner replied, saying, “Our Disaster Action Team responded to the fire on E 199th Street in the Bronx, but residents had left the scene. Any residents in need of Red Cross assistance should call 877-RedCross (option 1).”

 

Norwood News saw the Red Cross truck outside the building on Saturday evening but did not see any Red Cross representatives inside talking to residents. We noted that many residents had gone back inside the building after the firefighters left (apart from the FDNY investigation unit) to check on damage to their apartments. Many didn’t want to go out again as the locks to their apartment doors had been broken, and they didn’t want to leave their belongings unguarded. At the same time, their windows were broken so they didn’t feel secure sleeping in the building.

Norwood News shared the contact details for the Red Cross with some residents, and also informed the Red Cross of their predicaments.

 

The Red Cross later sent an update, saying, “I wanted to update that our team did register one household after my last email (three people (one adult / two children) for emergency assistance.”

More to follow..

 

Click here to read FDNY’s fire safety tips.

 

A full list of educational materials on lithium-ion batteries can be found online.

 

Click here for some previous coverage on this topic. New York City Council voted to pass additional e-bike safety rules to address the dangers of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in February 2024.

 

New laws have also been introduced at a federal and State level to address fire safety prevention and the hazards of lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes.

 

Click here for details of a prior federal recall of 53,000 scooters due to a fire hazard involving the deaths of two children.

 

On June 25, 2023 federal and City officials announced funding of $25 million for 173 safe e-charging and storage stations at more than 50 NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) sites.