Vic in killer Bronx fire a ‘good man’

A RELIGIOUS Bronx man whom neighbors had nicknamed “Preacher” died after a fire ripped through his basement apartment, authorities said Saturday.

Kenrick Perry, 72, was inside his unit on White Plains Road near E. 213th St. in Olinville about 10:30 a.m. Thursday when the blaze broke out, neighbors said.

“I saw him get carried out on a stretcher,” said one witness, who would only identify himself as Nick. “I don’t know if he was breathing or not.” Perry died at Montefiore Medical Center a short time later.

FDNY fire marshals said an unattended space heater in the apartment had set a mattress on fire.

The elderly man had burns on his arms and chest before firefighters pulled him out of the flames, sources said.

Nick, who works at a nearby pawn shop, said Perry was very active in a neighborhood church. His wife died several years ago and he has a son who lives in his native Guyana.

“They called him ‘Preacher’ because he loved to preach,” said Nick. “He was a good man. It sucks that this happened to him that way.”