YONKERS, Westchester County (WABC) — The long cleanup and rebuilding process is getting underway on Monday after a devastating fire left dozens of people homeless in Yonkers last Friday.
At the Yonkers Police Athletic League on Monday afternoon, Yosmarilis Coto sorted through a pile of donated clothes.
The 38-year-old mother, her 11-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son are just three of the 37 people who lost their homes in a major apartment fire late Friday night.
Cotto said she has lost everything – even her identification.
“I have nothing right now, if I were to get stopped I can’t even identity who I am other than just giving them my name,” Cotto said.
On Monday, at the scene of the fire on School Street, a smoke alarm chirped through charred remains of an empty three-story apartment building.
The building owner told Eyewitness News that an engineer would soon examine the structural integrity of his investment.
Pablo Perez, his very pregnant wife, and their two children lived in the basement apartment. They escaped through a back door but lost everything.
“The firefighters wouldn’t let us back in,” the 42-year-old said. “Because the building was soaked with water and on the verge of collapse.”
The fire broke out in a vacant building and spread to three others. A collapse brought down power lines and ignited cars parked on the street.
Everyone escaped without injury and the Red Cross has helped 26 adults and 11 children find temporary shelter.
Other organizations have stepped up as well.
“We are starting prepare bags with clothing and anything that they would need,” said Briana Giron with 100 Hispanic Women of Westchester. “Unfortunately, some of them cannot make it here to the PAL so we are trying to make things easier for the families.”
There is no official word from investigators as to what specifically sparked the fire, but Cotto has her suspicions.
She said the vacant building often served as shelter for the homeless.
“It was bound to happen, it was something that was gonna come down to they burn it or it gets knocked down,” Cotto said. ” And well, getting burnt was first.”
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