A man critically wounded in a deadly East Harlem fire shouted “my daughter needs help” at the start of the blaze — which wound up killing the 5-year-old and the man’s girlfriend, a neighbor said.
Dad Eric Williams, 46, was heard crying out for his young daughter, Erica, who was in the unit at NYCHA’s Jackie Robinson Houses with Chakaina Anderson, 36, as the tragedy, which was apparently started by a faulty e-bike battery, struck Wednesday.
“He was yelling. I wanted to open the door but the door was hot,” said a neighbor who gave her name as Tasay, 24.
”I didn’t know what to do so I just called 911. I saw the smoke. He started yelling, ‘my daughter needs help!’”
Williams and his daughter were rushed to Harlem Hospital after the fire, where the girl succumbed to her injuries. Williams was still hospitalized as of Thursday. Three dogs also died in the fire, authorities said.
The victims were identified as 5-year-old Erica Williams and 36-year-old Chkaina Anderson. Robert MeceaWilliams has owned several e-bikes over the years, including one that looked similar to a bike seen charred outside of the building in the aftermath of the blaze, the neighbor and family members said.
Williams sometimes parked one of the bikes in the hallway, Tasay said, describing him as a “good person and a good father.”
Police haven’t said if it was a bike owned by Williams that started the fire, and it wasn’t clear if the charred bike was the one whose batteries sparked the flames.
The East Harlem fire was apparently started by a faulty e-bike battery. Robert MeceaRobin Anderson, a cousin of Chakaina Anderson, said she was “devastated” by the loss of her cousin.
“I’m heartbroken that my cousin has passed,” Anderson said. “That’s my cousin. I love her and I’m sorry she’s not gonna be here anymore.”
Her husband, Joe, who said he knew Williams since “the sandbox days” of childhood, described him as friendly and outgoing.
Firefighters perform CPR on a victim in the East Harlem fire. Robert MeceaFire marshals have seen an uptick in the amount of lithium-ion battery incidents this year so far, with 121 investigations through Wednesday – compared to 104 in all of 2021.
Battery-related fires are blamed for five deaths and 66 injuries this year so far, and four deaths and 79 injuries last year, according to FDNY.
