Updated: Port Chester Fire Displaces 11 People
Where Is The Westmore News?
Port Chester Patch All Ready Has Videos Of The Fire Up On The Web
No wonder people in Port Chester call the newspaper, founded by Bernie "I Forgot To Pay Over 100 Tax Bills" Abel, the Westmore SNOOZE.
The fire occurred at 304 Midland Avenue just after 1 p.m. today.
Firefighters from Larchmont, Mamaroneck, White Plains and Stamford helped the Port Chester Fire Department fight the blaze. The three-story building has apartments on the top two floors and houses Harbor Marine Canvas and the Cafe Roma on the first floor across the street from Midland Plaza.
Heavy, dark smoke, visible from a mile away, billowed from the top two floors as firefighters on the roof and surrounding the building battled the blaze. About 100 spectators watched.
Village Trustee John Branca, who was in the nearby store DaDa Radice when the fire broke out, called 911.
"A gentleman came running in saying 'call 911, smoke is coming out of Harbor Marine Canvas,'" he said. He called and then helped store owner Daniel Radice, 80, evacuate from his home behind the store, which has been a village fixture since the 1930s. Branca also evacuated people who had come into the store because the smoke outside was so bad.
Moments later, firefighters arrived.
"At that point in time it was just a little bit of smoke, but then it blew up... 'boom!' It just went crazy," Branca said.
"The response was tremendous," Branca said of fire crews’ arrival at the scene.
Police Officer John Bykowski was one of the first on the scene, with Officer Thomas Krempe. By the time they arrived all the people in the businesses had already evacuated, Bykowski said. Climbing the stairs, he found a woman with her baby coming down and escorted them out of the building.
Josabel Carcamo, who lives in the apartment building with his wife, said he was at work when the fire started. He said his wife escaped the fire uninjured, but declined to provide further details on the incident.
Carcamo and his wife will be among the four families staying at the Carver Center until they find permanent shelter, said Carolyn Sherwin, a spokesperson for the Red Cross.
Sherwin said the organization “will work with all the families through the recovery process."
The Red Cross will provide the families with financial assistance to replace items lost in the fire. The organization will also use referrals from outside agencies to find them apartments, Sherwin said.
She said mental health volunteers are available to help the families cope with the aftermath of the fire.
The families are already getting offers for places to stay, Sherwin said. Two of the women who lost their apartments will be staying with friends while they look for a permanent place to live.
Anyone interested in donating to the families can visit http://www.westchestercounty.redcross.org or call 914-946-6500.
PORT CHESTER ROUNDUP UPDATE:
Sources tell Port Chester Roundup that Former Westmore News Columnist And Port Chester Planning Board Member Bart "My Downtown Office Had No CO" Didden Is At The Scene.
Apparently, Bart "My Downtown Office Had No CO" Didden was checking on the status of one of his expensive campaign signs which was on the side of the mixed use building that was engulfed in flames.
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