Hamilton Heights Fire: Over 100 Displaced As Neighbors Step In To Help

HARLEM, NY — Neighbors are stepping in to help after Saturday's devastating fire in a Hamilton Heights apartment building displaced more than 100 tenants.

An online fundraiser has been launched by the tenant association of 617 West 141st St., seeking to cover "basic everyday necessities" for more than 40 families who were driven out of their homes. It had raised a fraction of its $100,000 goal by Wednesday afternoon.

And City Council Member Shaun Abreu's office launched a clothing drive for the affected families, asking neighbors to drop off items on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the P.S. 192 school building on West 138th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam avenues. (New items only are requested; a list will be posted on Abreu’s website.)

"We are so inspired by our community's resilience and strength as we work together to provide support for those affected by the fire," Abreu said in a statement.

The blaze broke out around 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the top floor of the six-story building between Broadway and Riverside Drive. Authorities later found it was sparked by "electrical wiring in the ceiling of the top floor," the FDNY said.

Flames "rapidly spread throughout the building," FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens told reporters at the scene, taking nearly 200 firefighters more than four hours to contain it.

While the seven injured civilians suffered only minor injuries, the seven apartments on the building's top floor were affected by fire, and other units on the lower floors suffered water damage, Hodgens said.

Hours later, the displaced tenants had been relocated to a hotel in the Bronx while the city searched for longer-term housing, Abreu said.

The city's Office of Emergency Management did not immediately provide details about where the tenants were now living.

By Wednesday, the building was under a full vacate order due to "extensive fire damage," which left its roof about "80 percent open," according to Department of Buildings records.

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