by XANA O'NEILL AND TINA MOORE
A blind man died Monday when the cigarette he was smoking started a fire in his Bronx apartment, FDNY officials said.
Kenny Jackson, 55, was in his bedroom around 6 a.m. when fire tore through his unit in the Bronxdale Houses, officials said.
"I'm very upset," said Janet Jackson, 48, after rushing to 1775 Bruckner Blvd. to identify her brother's body. "He was a kind, caring person."
A firefighter and a civilian were treated at Jacobi Medical Center for minor injuries.
Jackson's cat, Sam, was carried out of the charred apartment swaddled in a red blanket.
The gray and white feline was in good condition by late afternoon at the city's Animal Care & Control shelter in Manhattan.
A shelter spokesman said Jackson's family would have about a week to claim the cat before it would be put up for adoption.
Jackson, legally blind after a stroke 15 years ago, was regularly cared for by neighbors and relatives.
Michelle Wilson fixed him a heaping plate of steak with gravy, string beans and potatoes the night before the fire.
"That's my family," said Wilson, 45, crying. "I can't see him burning to death."
The charred remains of Jackson's single bed were strewn across the lawn.
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