KINGSBRIDGE, the Bronx (WABC) — A beloved day care center, which had been operating in the community for over 20 years, was destroyed by a fire on Tuesday.
Parents and kids are now trying to figure out where to go and the day care owner is distraught over losing the business she loved dearly.
“This is my only income. That’s my livelihood. And I didn’t even get to say bye to my baby,” day care owner Maria Capellan said.
The last time Capellan was with the children she looked after in her home day care, everything was destroyed.
She was rushing them out of the fourth-floor apartment through the thick black smoke that charred the hallway walls that her students helped decorate.
“My student was sitting down at that table doing homework and she started crying when she saw the smoke coming out from that closet,” Capellan said.
The day care that is a safe-haven for learning and nurturing was turned upside down after a fire broke out on the floor below on Tuesday afternoon.
After years of creating positive memories, the last memory they’ll have there is firefighters trying to get the children out of the burning building.
“I tell them, he’s our hero, he’s coming to rescue us and he said, ‘Do you have a sticker for them?’ Because when they do something good, I give them stickers,” Capellan said.
Maria has been running the home day care of her building in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx for 23 years.
She initially opened it with a short-term goal in mind.
She was raising her own children and then fell in love with the idea of providing that service to other parents in the community.
“My son is just such a bright kid, so it’s really disheartening; he grew so lovely and developed so well here,” one of the parents said.
As hard as it is for parents to find a good day care, they found one at ‘The Kid’s Room.’
Capellan says it will be hard to rebuild and her license has been deactivated in the meantime.
Now the children have to find somewhere else to go.
“That’s such a reward when you see them reading at 3 and adding, subtracting. And now as I woke up today I’m like, what am I going to do now? What am I going to do now? 23 years. This is my routine. 7:30 to 6. 7:30 to 6. Now it’s all gone,” Capellan said.
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