Fire Displaces Family of Eight and Others
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A fire tore through a number of apartments on Shabbos afternoon. The incident took place inside of 617 Crown Street, which is between Troy and Albany, an apartment building with 46 residential units occupied by both Jewish and non-Jewish residents.
The blaze originated on the second floor inside the apartment of a Jewish family with eight children, and extended upwards to the roof causing significant damage to the apartments above it, as well as to the apartments beside it.
FDNY responded to the fire and had it under control a short while after arriving on scene. One person, the father of the family of eight, was transported by Hatzalah to Kings County for smoke inhalation and a previous heart condition.
Many residents moved out that night due to the heavy stench of smoke which gripped the interior of the building, and that hospitality shown by friends and family, leaving everyone with a roof over their heads, was heartwarming.
let us help
that is terrible. Does anyone know the ages of the kids in the family, and where they are? I am sure they need clothing, toys, food etc. Let us all open our hearts and pockets in other people’s time of need and may we always be zocher to be on the giving end and not the receiving.
Mushki
I was there, there were people in pajamas, a lady was holdling her new-born baby, it was really scary, but baruch hashem it got under control.
live there
First of all Ch.info its 621 Crown
yes i think if you can help this family you should they have NOTHING left. the kids are age 10 and down. and they got no cloth nothing just what they left there house with.
can we help
Dear crown heights.info
Is there anyway you can find out more details about this family like where they are staying etc. if people want to drop off stuff and post it on the website?
Thanks
mushky
many other apts got damaged too.my sis’s apt which is 2 floors directly above the one that had the fire- first of all e/t is covered in black in her apt- e/t stinks- the clothes/walls/floor- even after we washed the clothes they all still have a strong smell of smoke. i went in there for less than 1/2 an hour and my clothes- anything i was wearing came out with that smell- and it’s not going away so quickly.
besides the damage the firemen caused while they put out the fire- they broke into the apt- threw stuff down, (bh they didn’t steal anything)smashed the ceiling/ wall/floor to check if the fire went up into the walls- wtih much damage done in between (shades/windows/gates/airconditioner- e/t is all broken and needs to be replaced. besides the fact that the smell already seeped into e/t in the apt- seforim/ dishes/clothes/walls/floor/furniture.
there was much damage done on that wing- the apt right above the one it happened had fire come up too. the apt below it had flooding from the water- there is much help you can give!
the father is doing okay- was released from the hospital not long after. e/t in their apt was destroyed- the only clothes they have is what they were wearing when they left.
and it was no one’s fault- was an electrical fire- pretty scary because shabbos, no one is switching stuff on- i wouldn’t want to stick anything into an outlet in that building!
May we only hear simchos!
p.s. someone should’ve taken pics of the hallways in there after the fire- by now it’s getting cleaned but before it was a whole design- black smoke was sticking everywhere and there was a whole design of black (smoke) dripping down the walls- looked pretty cool!
ahavas chesed volunteer
Ahavas Chesed is assisting this family, but they need your help!
Please open your hearts and help this family reestablish their home.
Tax-deductable donations can be sent to:
AHAVAS CHESED
FIRE FUND
720 Lefferts Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203
To contribute via credit card,
or if you would like to provide clothing, furniture or other necessities,
please call: 718-221-2424
Tizku L’Mitzvos!
Dev.
why did you have to mention that the firemen didn’t steal anything? Why would you assume that? They came to put out the fire. You think stealing is something on their minds??
fireproof
Dear Dev
Yes.
IMPORTANT INFO FOR ALL RENTERS
I would like to point out something VERY important. Many of the residents in the building who had damage to their personal property and apartments did not have renters insurance. Building Landlords have insurance policies for the building which (if they are lucky) pay only to reconstruct damage in the apartment (floors, ceilings, walls, doors) caused by the fire.
Individuals who lived in the damaged apartment do not get anything from the building insurance. Hence, if they do not have their own personal renter’s insurance, they are left out in the cold. TO ALL RENTERS HERE AND EVERYWHERE. RENTERS INSURANCE IS A VERY NECESSARY AND AFFORDABLE ITEM TO INCLUDE IN YOUR BUDGET. Having renters insurance would have covered these unfortunate tenants and paid for the damage to their clothing, furniture, and other personal property.
Sharon
I second the importance of renters insurance. I lost everything except for the clothes on my back in a fire (not this fire, another one) this past summer. I was the ONLY tenant who had insurance. I thank G_d every day that I had that insurance. My policy cost $108 a year.
While the firemen were still battling the fire, my insurance broker was there with a check for me to pay for my emergency expenses. They reimbursed me for the hotel I had to stay at while I looked for a new apartment and are paying the difference between my old rent and new rent (almost $400 a month) for 24 months after the fire.
It took a couple of months to settle the contents portion of my claim so after the advance money was gone I had to dip into my savings to pay for new furniture, housewares and clothes but I was able to replace that money when my policy was paid.
It’s such a small amount of money to pay for such a large benefit. It was so hard to lose all my photographs, my deceased father’s things, my papers and all the other belongings that can’t ever be replaced; but having insurance money to replace everything else makes it a lot easier.
I didn’t have a fireproof box before the fire, but I bought one after. I should have had one before, but I never got around to it. If I had, I wouldn’t have lost all the negatives to my old photos, important papers, my computer back-up, etc. It makes me sick to think that I didn’t buy one years ago, and that if I had I wouldn’t have lost things that were irreplaceable.