2 people critical, families displaced after fire

Jan. 25--TOWN OF WALLKILL -- Three people remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon and more than a dozen families were displaced after a fire ripped through a Fitzgerald Drive apartment complex early Tuesday morning, according to officials.

Two of the victims were in critical condition.

Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman said the fire at the 15-unit, two-story apartment building is under investigation, but the fire is being considered as accidental, possibly caused by a carelessly placed burning cigarette.

Five people were taken to Orange Regional Medical Center with various injuries, officials said. The building, which was home to 20 to 25 people, has been condemned by town officials. Of the 15 apartments, 14 were occupied.

The building is one of eight in the Crestwood Apartments complex, which was built in the late 1960s.

The first calls for a fire at 92 Fitzgerald Drive came in at 12:53 a.m. Tuesday, Hertman said during a press conference with other town officials Tuesday afternoon at Town Hall.

Silver Lake Fire Department First Assistant Chief Rich Manley said that when a Silver Lake firefighter who lived in a nearby building arrived at the scene, he found a man hanging from a window, his apartment in flames.

"By the time he could get over to him, he jumped, receiving minor injuries," Manley said.

The jumper refused medical aid, Hertman said.

Hertman said two Wallkill police officers found apartment 54-A fully engulfed in flames. They determined the apartment was empty and began evacuating the building. About 50 people poured out of several buildings into an overnight ice storm.

"As devastating as this case was, it could have been a lot worse," Hertman said.

The four-alarm fire was difficult to fight, Manley said, because of the nasty storm that brought heavy winds, rain and sleet. There was also low water pressure, Manley said. About 100 firefighters and other emergency workers responded to the scene.

Lou Ingrassia, co-director for Wallkill's Office of Emergency Management, said one fire hydrant was not working, but firefighters were able to quickly hook up to another. He said two town buses were brought to the scene, one used for EMS triage and the other for Red Cross triage. A Red Cross spokeswoman said the group was helping several families who had been displaced.

Manley said firefighters searched the building and found that all the residents had left safely. Eventually, firefighters put out a mayday request, signalling the building was going to collapse. Firefighters left the building and part of the roof caved in, Manley said.

Five people were taken to Orange Regional Medical Center.

Gina Marie Faricelli, a 57-year-old resident of apartment 54-A, suffered burns and smoke inhalation and remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon.

Tonya Picket, 62, suffered smoke inhalation and was in critical but stable condition in the ICU Tuesday afternoon.

Samuel Cuellarquevedo, 88, was in stable condition after he reported chest pain, possibly from a heart attack.

Two more victims, Kevin Sloan and Maria Cardenas, were taken to ORMC with minor injuries and were later released.

Town Building Inspector Frank Leva said an engineer and an insurance agent will visit the building Wednesday. Leva said condemnation notices have been put on all the doors of the building and the site will be fenced in Wednesday.

"Basically the middle part of the building has severe damage, the end units appear to be OK, but we're going to rely heavily on this engineer's structural analysis," Leva said.

Wallkill Supervisor Dan Depew said the town has asked the complex's owner to return tenants' deposits by Wednesday. He has sent letters to other apartment complexes in town seeking vacant apartments for displaced residents and asking them to offer lower rents.

Depew said the town has reached out to most of the tenants but is asking victims to contact the town so they can be notified when they can retrieve their possessions from their apartments.

"We will do whatever we can to help them find a new apartment," Depew said.

The town can be reached at 692-7800.

jnani@th-record.com

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