E-bike batteries like the one found in the Twin Parks apartment complex are directly responsible for six deaths so far this year but was not the cause of the Jan. 9 fire, FDNY officials said.
Some, if not all of the deaths could likely have been prevented if the high rise’s owners had addressed known safety issues, including malfunctioning doors that should have closed automatically and windows that did not open, the new suit argues.
The day after the blaze, Mayor Adams admonished New Yorkers to “close the door, close the door” when a fire breaks out in their building. Adams said Friday that by repeating advice often offered by the Fire Department, he didn’t mean to point a finger at the victims.
Yusupha Jawara got to the Bronx building to help evacuate people. By Monday night, he learned his brother Hagi Jawara, 47, and his sister-in-law Isatou Jabbie, 31, had died in the fire.
The smallest victim was 2-year-old Ousmane Konteh, who was with an aunt in an apartment on the top floor of the 19-story Bronx high-rise when the smoky blaze broke out this past Sunday.