65 people were left homeless Sunday morning after a massive fire destroyed their apartment building at 2964 and 2972 Main Street and 6 Portland Street.
The cause of the fire is believed to be arson.
The 4-story brick building has three different addresses, which shows you just how many people lived in this building.
http://liarcatchers.com/arson_investigation.html
Aide to the Fire Commissioner Dennis Leger told 22News there are 20 apartment units affected by this fire.
The fire started just after 10 o’clock Saturday night, and it took firefighters about 6 hours to put out the fire completely.
There are no injuries. Everyone was able to get out of the building safely, which includes a pitbull puppy that was rescued. However, most residents have lost everything they own.
“She’s sad. She just wants to find somewhere else, but she’s been here so long that that was her comfort zone. She was comfortable there. It’s going to be hard because she has to start all over from scratch.” says Margarita Colon, who lived at 6 Portland Street.
Massive flames and smoke could be seen from across the Connecticut River in West Springfield.
Luis Colon, a Main Street resident, states “What can I say? It is too much. Too much. Overwhelming.”
Luis told 22News he moved in to 2972 Main St. two months ago after escaping a house fire on Grove St.
He said “Twice. It’s crazy. On the same day, the 20th, and around the same time. That’s what’s hurting me. We tried to get this place, make it a place that we can all come together after that first fire, and yet again, we have to deal with it all over again.”
“Kids barefoot. I saw them myself barefooted, and in diapers, with a shirt, with underwear, no shoes. It was crazy.” says Ruthie Santiago, Margita Colon’s stepdaughter told 22News.
Many people said they’ve never seen anything like it before.
After observing the fire, Miguel Villanueva says “This is my first time ever seeing something like this. I hope no one is in there and we’re praying everyone is safe.”
Right now the Red Cross is helping the displaced residents.
Mary Nathan, the Regional Red Cross Response Manager states “The month of April has just been so taxing. It’s the worst April we’ve ever had for fire, and it has really taxed our resources, our human resources, and we are way over what we would normally have budgeted for April.”
