r/Upperwestside • u/Dear_Entry_3897 • 3h ago
Fire in Building on West 104th st bet. Broadway & Amsterdam. Manhattan *ALL HANDS* FIRE REPORTED IN THE BASEMENT
October 8th at around 3 am, a fire started in the basement of my building on West 104th st. Not a single smoke alarm went off in the building. The only way we and the neighboring building realized there was a fire was that someone was screaming outside and called 911. It was about 3:41am when I went to my window to see what the screaming was about and I saw people from my building running across the street in a panic. I picked up my cat and went to get her carrier and all the lights went out so I could not see to gather my phone or money or anything else. But thank goodness I quickly stuffed my cat into the carrier and went to my door. When I opened my apt door all I saw was masses of smoke. It immediately started burning my eyes and my throat and I could not see through it but I found my way down 5 flights of stairs and got outside with nothing but myself and my cat. On my way down the stairs I also did not hear a single smoke alarm and my fellow tenants also said no alarm went off. We all found out the building was on fire from outside screaming. We waited across the street while the fire dept put out the fire. By around 5:30am the fire dept left and we still had no instructions on what to do. Tenants who managed to escape with a phone called the super during all this but he lives in The Bronx and could not come right away. He showed up closer to the end of the fire.
Some of us went back into the building even though it was smoky but some others who lived close to the fire on the ground floor could not go back inside and had to find another place to stay. I saw downstairs dwelling tenants sitting outside the building among all the broken window glass until daylight afraid to leave because their windows and doors were broken as was the front door of the building so they were afraid someone from the street would enter the building and their apt. The situation was chaotic and I don't know where the super was at this point. But the tenants each tried to find a way to cope until daylight and some kind of help came. But help did not come. I was overcome with exhaustion and fell asleep in my apt upstairs with the windows open.
I woke up only 3 hours later in a panic. The following days have been a struggle. We had no electricity, hot water, gas or heat for several days. Tenants were coming and going each day. As I write this it is October 15th and 6 days of this have passed with inspectors coming and going. We finally got electricity but still have no hot water, heat or gas. Con Ed has been drilling for 2 days and there's two huge holes in the ground in front of the building. People in protective white garments have been going through the building cleaning wallls and ceilings and there are air filtration units on each floor but if you leave the building, when you return, you smell smoke as soon as you approach the door.
I have nowhere else to go and am trying to survive this. I am not sure what my next move will be.