WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Dozens of residents of a West 179th Street building were in limbo after a fire tore through the top floor of their building over the weekend — forcing a full evacuation and leaving one family searching for emergency housing.
The fire at 501 W. 179th St. started about 3 p.m. on Jan. 17 in the five-story building's cockloft, which separates the roof from the ceilings of the upper level apartments, the FDNY said. While no injuries were reported, all 12 units in the building near Amsterdam Avenue were evacuated because of damage to the roof, said building owner Atanasio Cortez.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, the FDNY said.
An architect was on the scene on Monday, but Cortez said it was unclear how long it would take to make the building habitable again.
“Until the roof is fixed, no one can come back,” Cortez said.
For residents of the fifth-floor apartments, which incurred the most damage, the process could take even longer, Cortez said.
The Red Cross said it was providing emergency assistance to more than two-dozen residents from eight apartments in the building. Only one family required emergency housing services, a spokesman said.
Michelle Delmonte, 30, was home with her two children at the time of the fire, but said her fire alarm didn’t sound.
“I heard people screaming so I looked outside and saw all of the firefighters,” she said. “I grabbed my shoes, not even socks. My two kids were crying and we just ran outside.”
Delmonte said she and her children were lucky to be able to stay with family in Yonkers, but she was concerned about the longer commute to work and school.
“I don’t know how it’s going to work out,” she said.
Delmonte said she hoped to get financial assistance from the Red Cross to replenish some of the food and other supplies her family lost in the blaze.
The fire also damaged Barahona Express, a car service and driving school located on the ground floor of the building.
“All the water damaged everything,” said employee Dayanette Guzman. “The computers, the floor, all the documents, the telephones and printers — everything.”
Guzman said it could take months to make all the necessary repairs.
