Jan. 29--POTSDAM -- A fire that may have started in the bathroom of a Debra Drive apartment early Saturday morning displaced 39 residents.
The Potsdam Fire Department arrived at the Lawrence Avenue Apartments at 3:25 a.m. for the report of the structure fire that First Assistant Chief Timothy L. Jerome said is still under investigation by state fire investigators.
Volunteers from the North Country Chapter of the American Red Cross provided immediate emergency aid to 39 people. The Red Cross provided financial assistance for necessities including shelter, food and clothing to 18 adults and 21 children.
The tenants escaped without serious injury and were put on buses provided by Potsdam Central School to stay warm. A congested parking lot, cold temperatures and the early morning hours of the fire caused some difficulties, but Chief Jerome said that the assistance of manpower from neighboring volunteer fire departments in West Stockholm, West Potsdam, Norwood, Parishville and Canton made a difference at the scene, while the Hannawa Falls Volunteer Fire Department were placed on standby.
Potsdam Rescue Squad was also on scene. "We pulled it together though and we have to count on each other pretty good," Chief Jerome said. "I was stuck up on the roof, cutting a 12-by-12 hole in it to let the heat escape. We had to cut a tree down to get access."
Chief Jerome estimated that the fire had been extinguished at about 8 a.m. after chasing hot spots and other possible igniters that could rekindle the blaze, putting fire departments back in service at 9 a.m.
"I wasn't back in service until about 11 a.m. or noon, after assisting New York state fire investigators and officers, providing equipment for them so they could do their investigation," Chief Jerome said.
He said while firefighters were battling the blaze, which either destroyed or damaged somewhere between 24 and 26 apartments, Potsdam police officers provided "exceptional help" by going from door to door, helping to evacuate residents from the building.
One of those residents was Chief Jerome's stepdaughter, Nichole A. Webber, who said that she and her 5-year-old son, Luke, were indebted to the Potsdam Police because without them she would never have known there was a fire.
"There were no alarms because there wasn't enough smoke," Ms. Webber said. "I am very indebted to them because they are the ones who woke me up and got me out of my apartment." Distraught and confused over what to do, she said she went to Walmart at 6 a.m. to get clothing for work that morning.
"I didn't even really know what I was doing," Ms. Webber said. "I dropped my son off at my stepdad's house and I went to work because there was nothing else I could do."
Moreover, faculty at Lawrence Avenue Elementary School, where her son goes to school, has reached out and provided help to Ms. Webber as well as other families with children that attend the school. Ms. Webber said that on Sunday her son's kindergarten teacher, Tina Parker, brought her winter clothing and a backpack and that the school principal, Jennifer A. Gray, was organizing to get families things they may need.
"She is really awesome," Ms. Webber said. "We literally left with nothing but what we were wearing and he was kind of scared because we never had to deal with anything like this."
Ms. Gray said that on Monday morning a team of administrators and counselors at the school met and they looked at the list of families affected by the fire and they assigned a person from the district to reach out to that family and see exactly what they needed.
"Our staff has historically been very generous and whenever there is a family in need they reach out. This is just a bigger instance where there are a lot more families that needed our help. Our staff has been contacting each other all weekend asking what can we do to help, so everyone is very eager to give."
Students from 11 families, ranging from pre-K to middle school, that had been affected by the fire, were contacted by the school to find out what their needs were Monday morning, Ms. Gray said.
The school is going to have a "dress down" fundraiser Friday where faculty and staff will make donations for those affected by the fire in order to wear casual clothing, such as jeans, to school.
"I think part of our job is to help our community and to be that bridge when people need to get back up on their feet, so everyone has been very eager all day long asking, 'what can we do to help? What do you need?'" Ms. Gray said. "So that is what we are trying to figure out and we are just grateful everyone got out safely. We were very lucky because the outcome could have been very different."
Red Cross Volunteers also offered health services, emotional support and comfort kits containing personal care items and stuffed animals for the children. American Red Cross Eastern New York Region Executive Director Jane G. Gendron said she has caseworkers in the area working with those affected by the fire.
"Everything is still being assessed with everybody because it is such a large group," Ms. Gendron said. "We take each family case-by-case to determine who can stay with family versus families not having a place to go. So we are still working with everybody to determine what everybody's immediate needs are."
Ms. Gendron said there is a monetary amount attached to whether those affected are individuals or families, and once that figure is determined, they will issue a debit cart to the those in need that can be used for hotels or other immediate needs. From there secondary agencies would step in, including possible mental health counselors.
"Caseworkers will work with them to see if there are any additional needs," Ms. Gendron said. "We will make referrals if kids have trouble sleeping, because it is a traumatic experience. We work with them at every level, but only immediately, until they no longer need us."
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