Deer Park residents move back home after apartment fire
Residents from 56 apartments were displaced for five days while crews made sure everything was safe.
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Residents in the Maple Crest apartment complex are finally returning home after a fire ripped through at least ten apartments Sunday afternoon.
It’s been five days since residents from 56 apartments here in the Deer Park complex have been home.
Even though most of those apartments escaped without fire damage, many residents had to stay with family or friends until crews made sure the apartments were safe and could turn the electricity back on.
The fire started Sunday and quickly spread through at least ten apartments.
A town of Babylon spokesperson confirms that the fire did appear to be accidental. They say a tenant left clothes on top of a stove that was turned on.
Fifty-six apartments were affected even if they didn’t get fire damage. Residents were displaced for five days because of water and smoke damage and utilities that were shut off.
“They had to fix all the electric, the boxes,” resident Debbie Ricciardi said. “They had to make sure it was safe to turn on. The hot water came on two days ago or yesterday. But some people, because the smoke went up, they couldn’t stay because of the smell.”
Ricciardi says all she lost was food, but she feels bad for her neighbors who lost everything.
She says one of her neighbors had already lost everything in another fire in this complex back in 2023. Now almost three years later, it’s happened to her again.
The Red Cross says they served over 250 meals for residents post-fire.
