11-Year-Old Boy Killed in Bronx E-Bike Battery Fire, Four Family Members Critical

A fire caused by a lithium-ion e-bike battery killed an 11-year-old boy and left four of his family members in critical condition at the Patterson Houses in the South Bronx on October 28. The blaze broke out just before 1 a.m. on the 11th floor of 320 Morris Avenue, between East 140th Street and 3rd Avenue. Around 40 units and 130 fire and EMS personnel responded, and firefighters pulled five civilians from the burning apartment, including two teenagers. The boy, identified by neighbors and sources as Zion Maine, did not survive. Flames were brought under control by 2:05 a.m.

FDNY investigators determined the e-bike, which had been stored inside the apartment, caused the fire. The burning battery blocked the family's path to the exit. A neighbor said the father had received the bike from another resident in the building only two or three weeks earlier and had been warned repeatedly not to charge it indoors near the stove.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore addressed the public at a briefing, also attended by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Bonsignore urged all New Yorkers to store and charge e-bikes outside where possible. She noted that lithium-ion battery fires have risen sharply in New York City: so far in 2026, there have been 401 fires, 74 injuries, and six deaths — up from 292 fires, 51 injuries, and just one death in all of 2025.

Assembly Member Amanda Septimo said her office is monitoring the situation and expressed condolences to the family and the broader Patterson Houses community.