A fire tore through an 11th-floor apartment at the Patterson Houses in Mott Haven early Wednesday, killing a boy and leaving four of his relatives in critical condition at Bronx hospitals. The fire broke out around 12:50 a.m.; firefighters pulled five people from the smoke-filled unit at 320 Morris Ave., including two adults and three boys believed to be members of the same family.
According to ABC7 New York, two of the boys were rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where one later died and the other remained in critical condition. A third boy was taken to Harlem Hospital, also in critical condition, while a man and a 33-year-old woman were transported to Lincoln Hospital, where both were listed in critical condition as well.
Firefighters battled the blaze for just over an hour before bringing it under control shortly after 2 a.m., the outlet reported. Officials said the fire appeared to have started in the apartment's kitchen, though the exact cause remained under investigation as of Wednesday morning.
Lithium-Ion Battery Found, but Role Unclear
Amid the wreckage, firefighters encountered a lithium-ion battery inside the apartment, though the report notes authorities have not determined whether it played any role in sparking or spreading the flames. The discovery comes as fire officials across the city have been grappling with a surge in battery-related incidents, even as this particular case remains unresolved.
FDNY data cited by Gothamist shows the department investigated 282 lithium-ion battery fires so far this year, resulting in 55 injuries and one death, compared to 292 such fires in all of 2025 that caused 51 injuries and one death. Separately, the New York Daily News has reported that fires caused by lithium-ion batteries rose roughly 70% this year even as the number of deaths from them has declined, with 18 fatalities recorded citywide in 2023, six in 2024, and just one in 2025.
Pattern of Deadly Fires at Bronx Public Housing
Mott Haven has seen battery-related fire danger before. A blaze at NYCHA's nearby Mill Brook Houses broke out on the fifth floor of a building in the complex, according to News 12 Bronx, which reported that more than 100 firefighters responded and requested a Hazmat team after discovering lithium-ion batteries inside the unit.
Other NYCHA developments have endured similar tragedies. A November 2021 fire in a 19th-floor apartment at the Bronx's Mitchel Houses killed 6-year-old Aiden Hayward and seriously injured his father, while a December 2021 fire at the Riis Houses in Manhattan's East Village, sparked by a lithium-ion battery in an e-scooter stored inside an apartment, killed a man and severely injured a woman, according to reporting from THE CITY. That same investigation found that lithium-ion battery fires tied to e-bikes and e-scooters had climbed from 30 citywide in 2019 to 220 in 2022.
The Patterson Houses fire also follows a deadly January blaze and gas explosion at Boston Secor Houses elsewhere in the Bronx, which killed one person and injured 14 others, including one in critical condition, forcing the evacuation of roughly 150 homes, according to The New York Times.
No further details on the condition of the surviving family members or the investigation's progress had been released as of Wednesday morning.
