'We Lost Everything': Tenants Displaced After Deer Park Fire

DEER PARK, NY — The morning before their lives fell apart, Breana Henriques, Brendan Elliot, and their 4-month-old, baby boy, Antonio, had gotten breakfast with Henriques' mother in Bethpage.

Around 3:30 p.m., they returned to their ground-floor home at Maple Crest Apartments. Like any Sunday, the apartment needed to cleaned, as much as one can with a 4-month-old, they said.

After organizing the living room and kitchen, Elliot had begun to assemble a new bassinet, to replace the one Antonio had just grown out of.

That's when they heard the aggressive banging on the door.

"That's what I keep replaying in my head," said Elliot. "It was shaping up to be a nice night, we were going to give him a bath. Then it's all out the window."

The two looked at each other.

"Both of us are here. Who is that, and why so aggressive?," said Henriques.

Then, they saw the smoke.

The knock had come from a Suffolk County Police Officer, who was evacuating the 242 units in the apartment building.

Henriques immediately picked up Antontio and ran out the door, barefoot.

Elliot stayed behind to grab his mother's two cats. They had been watching the pets while she was on vacation in Hawaii.

Scared, the cat hid under a table and scratched Elliot's arm in the process.

Once Henriques and Elliot were evacuated, they saw the full intensity of what happened.

In what felt like in the blink of an eye, all the 242 units in the L-shaped complex were inundated in smoke and flames.

Henriques, Elliot, and Antonio are three out of numerous tenants who have been displaced since Sunday's fire.

"We lost everything," Elliot said.

From 300 feet away, the tenants could distinctly smell the charred odor from the complex. A total of ten fire departments assisted for at least an hour in putting out the fire.

Henriques ended up holding Antonio in her arms for at least four hours, she said.

"I couldn't sit him down on the grass. I didn't have any blankets on me," Henriques said.

Tenants could not utilize their cars because roads were blocked in by officials, the couple said.

Despite some moments of anxiety, Antonio seemed almost unaware of the incident, and was a happy baby.

"For the first time in four and a half months he was quiet," Henriques said.

Once the fire was put out, the numerous tenants expressed wanting to gather their belongings, but were told to stay away from the complex for their safety.

The couple told Patch they were beyond grateful for the help of fire department officials, who voluntarily helped collect their items — mainly baby supplies for Antonio.

"I couldn't even believe how helpful they were," said Elliot. "I wish I remembered which department they were because I would write a letter saying thank you. "

Fire department officials also helped gather her phone, Antonio's car seat, and other essential items for themselves.

Elliot, a former Dix Hills volunteer firefighter and whose brother currently works with the department, said he is indebted to the first responders.

"If I didn't ask the firefighters to go back to my apartment that night, we literally would be out just with clothes on our back," said Elliot.

"A Bonkers Year"

The fire comes only one after significant life events, both joyful and somber.

The couple told Patch they had only recently moved into their one-bedroom, ground-floor apartment in March. It was the first home the couple ever shared together.

Shortly after, on March 27, Antonio was born. He was named after Henriques' father, who at the time had been battling pancreatic cancer for eight years.

"He was just using his eyes and everything for the first time in perceiving it," said Elliot. "And now he's never going to go back there again."

Henriques said that when looking for apartments, they were drawn to its affordability and its sense of community. While living there, they saw that kids often played together and were "best friends."

Both immediately felt welcomed by their neighbors, who "couldn't hear" when Antonio would cry throughout the night.

"We like pictured ourselves like staying there for a while," said Henriques.

In June, events took a turn. Just when Henriques' returned to work from maternity leave, her father passed away.

"I was working throughout my dad's funeral," Henriques said. "It was hectic."

Her mother is also currently battling stage four colon cancer.

"It has been a bonkers year," she added.

Since Sunday night, the family has been living at Elliot's mother's house in Head of the Harbor. Antonio is her third grandchild, he said, and so she luckily already had a nursery.

Little by little, Elliot has returned to his apartment to collect items. Fortunately, it only received smoke damage, and was not burned.

Still, both have yet to fully process the traumatic event.

"Yesterday, I was just numb," said Elliot. "I went to King Kullen in town just to pick up stuff for us while we're here. I was just walking around like a zombie."

So far, he has retrieved only a handful, yet important amount of items, most of which stand in his mother's doorway which include: Antonio's hospital bracelet; his birth certificate; baby clothes; a social security card; a baby play set; Henriques' father's crucifix from his funeral; a large garbage bag filled with clean diapers.

"It's things that you don't really think of," said Henriques. "I didn't even have my phone on me. I didn't have anything. I just grabbed him (Antonio) and I just ran."

In Elliot's mother's living room, baby Antonio coos on a chair gifted at Henrique's baby shower, which had still been in the box during the fire.

Elliot points to a stack of Misfits Markets boxes in the corner.

"All that, that's stuff that we didn't even take out from my mom's house yet," he said. "Now I'm bringing stuff back."

Neighbors

Two officers were treated for smoke inhalation, but as of now there are no other known injuries, police said.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but police believe it is not malicoius.

While the Red Cross provided support to tenants at the scene of the fire, many people were able to find housing with relatives, Henriques said.

"If you have nobody, no family on the island, and you were displaced, what recourse do you have?" said Elliot.

They are also striving to have gratitude. The family is so far not physically affected from the smoke and blaze. Both Henriques and Elliot work from home, and their jobs have been "understanding" of their situation.

The two are also communicating with neighbors and their situation as well — some whose apartments have completely burned down.

The man had who had moved in a week earlier, another family that moved in like a month ago, another couple expecting a baby — all of their apartments are "gone."

One woman taught music lessons from her apartment, and owned various instruments.

"She pretty much lost her livelihood at the same time," Elliot said.

Multiple GoFundMe's have been created to financially help displaced tenants, raising a combined amount of $23,470 as of Tuesday evening:

• Disastrous fire that has affected many families
• Anthony's Apartment Fire Recovery Fund
• Jen, Steve & baby Korra
• Help Alex start over after apartment fire
• Single dad small child loses everything in fire

Still, the fire has taken an emotional toll, as the family continues to find their new normal.

"Not that like we had really started to consider it home yet, but it was home," said Henriques. "You don't realize it until after everything is gone."