April 21--A fire ripped through a 16-unit apartment complex in Coram Sunday afternoon, leaving as many as 40 people homeless, officials said.
The fire at 24 El Camino Ct. was first reported at 1:27 p.m., Suffolk police said. Coram firefighters, joined by four other departments, battled the blaze, which was under control by 3:30 p.m., according to the Coram fire dispatcher.
Police said no one appeared to be injured in the fire.
Melissa Card, 36, a retail manager who lives in the complex, said she had arrived home early Sunday afternoon to find her apartment filled with smoke and burn marks on her bathroom ceiling.
Card said she ran downstairs to alert a neighbor before everyone fled from the building.
"After we were all outside, the whole roof was engulfed in flames," Card said.
Card said she and other displaced residents were waiting to meet with the Red Cross in the complex's clubhouse.
Card said she doesn't expect anything to be salvageable from her apartment.
"It's only stuff," she said. "Everything can be replaced."
Craig Cooper, a spokesman for the American Red Cross on Long Island, said the agency was working with all 16 families in the complex. It was too early to tell how many people will need emergency housing or other items, such as clothing, he said.
"We are at this point just assessing their needs to determine how best we can help them," Cooper said.
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