‘It’s all gone.’ Family with autistic toddler loses everything in Bushwick fire
Crystalee Espier said she was inside the home on Weirfield Street with her siblings, father and her 1-year-old son when the fire broke out two doors down.
A Bushwick family is staying in a hotel with little more than the clothes on their backs after a devastating fire tore through their home Friday afternoon.
Crystalee Espier said she was inside the home on Weirfield Street with her siblings, father and her 1-year-old son when the fire broke out two doors down.
“I didn’t think about anything else besides grabbing my son and stepping outside,” Espier said.
Fire officials said the flames spread quickly from one rowhouse to the next, eventually reaching the family’s home.
“Thick plumes of black smoke coming out of specifically our house,” Espier said. “We have solar panels. So, the solar panels caught fire and they completely melted.”
Everyone inside made it out safely. But Espier says once they were allowed back inside, they returned to find devastating damage.
“All the ceilings had collapsed. There was water just running down like a waterfall,” she said. “By the time we got to the third floor, it was just completely gone because they had to take off the whole roof.”
The home had been in the family for 20 years. Now, the family says nearly everything inside is gone, including essential items for Espier’s 3-year-old son with autism.
“A lot of sensory toys,” she said. “We collected a lot of things that kind of simulate normal life so that he can acclimate. It’s all gone.”
Beyond the material things, the family says they lost memories from their mother, who died in 2010.
“All the memories that we had created and everything from people that we’ve lost,” said Mia Rivera, Espier’s sister. “Including photos that’s been destroyed.”
The family is now staying in a hotel while they figure out their next steps. They say they are relying on donations as they start over.
“We have the GoFundMe,” Espier said. “But besides that, just clothing, any toys and anything like that.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
