UPDATED: Young families lost everything… infants and babies now homeless… [VIDEO OF BLAZE]
HYANNIS – Saturday night’s multi-alarm apartment fire put young families and babies out in the cold.
The fire occurred last evening at about 6:15pm, at building 9 inside the Cromwell Court apartment complex, at 168 Barnstable Road. There was heavy smoke and fire damage. At least three apartments completely destroyed… Property damage ranging towards $800,000 according to the Cape Cod Times…
But the real story involves the young families that now find themselves homeless with nothing more than the Red Cross clothing on their backs.
HN spoke with the 23-year-old mom who lived in the third floor apartment that was completely destroyed.
The young mom had just returned home and was getting ready for bed. She has a three-week old infant, which she is nursing, and a one-year-old baby. Her mom, who recently arrived from out of town and was now staying with her, was inside the apartment. The young father was also there. Suddenly they were all racing to escape flames which were quickly engulfing the side of their building.
Abruptly forced out wearing just t-shirts, shorts, and shoeless, they recalled the sudden cold and terror. The chaos, noise, and seeing their home destroyed was overwhelming to say the least.
They didn’t even have time to grab their purses and cell phones. Fortunately, the father still had his cell phone in his pants pocket. This phone may prove to be their lifeline in the days to come as they begin to piece their lives back together.
One of the family was grateful to find a spare pair of sneakers in her car. The rest were provided sweatshirts, pants, and other basic clothing from the American Red Cross…
All their baby supplies and worldly possessions were now destroyed.
Thanks to the Red Cross, the family has a local hotel room to stay in this evening, but are uncertain what will happen after tonight.
Hyannis News will be checking in with and interviewing the victims of the fire in hopes the community can come forward and assist.
The belongings of three families were piled in front of the apartment.
According to sources, an 18-year-old mom, father, and baby were also displaced from the basement apartment where the fire reportedly originated in a closet, possibly caused by an electrical problem of some sort… (although that information has yet to be officially confirmed…). That apartment had severe fire damage which left nothing but ashes.
[IMPORTANT UPDATE: The young mother in the bottom apartment was unfortunately the victim of another fire at an apartment building on the East End of Main Street about a year ago. That fire also left her homeless. Due to the numerous doubts and comments on the HN facebook page, it’s important to also note she was NOT involved in the cause of that fire in anyway whatsoever. (This information has been confirmed by a high ranking fire official…) Thank you everyone for your comments and concern for these families. They most certainly need and deserve our prayers and help during this crisis…]
The family in the middle floor apartment was also displaced due to fire and smoke damage. HN briefly met that family and passed along contact info.
According to Lt. Thomas Kenny of the Hyannis Fire Department, the fire displaced residents from approximately 24 units…
The following video, sent in by Tyler Smith, shows firefighters battling intense flames… [Press play]
A police officer was treated for smoke inhalation while making sure everyone was out of the building. Other than that, there were remarkably no injuries reported amongst firefighters and residents. It was thankfully early in the evening and residents were still mostly awake...
HN NOTE: The disaster could have been much worse (especially since the fire swiftly climbed the building and became more concentrated in the open attic area), but thanks to the quick response and actions of firefighters, the brunt of the fire damage was contained to just one section of the multi-unit apartment building.
11/16/2014
Robert Bastille,
P.S. -- Today's HyTown Vignette is brought to you by Ray Charles... [Press play]
