GREENPOINT — A pair of good Samaritans trained by a Polish scouting organization came to the rescue of a group of elderly Greenpoint residents displaced Sunday by a house fire, organizing donations, translating and offering moral support.
Sisters Anna and Magdalena Sawicka, 28 and 19 respectively, commandeered part of Tony's Pizzeria on Nassau Avenue Monday afternoon as home base for relief efforts — fielding calls to the Polish consulate, arranging bags of winter clothes to be dropped off and giving hugs to distressed residents who suddenly found themselves homeless.
About 14 people were affected by the fire at 49 Diamond St. Sunday night, according to the Red Cross.
Getting involved with relief efforts was a no-brainer for Anna, who's been a Polish Girl Scout for the past eight years.
Unlike the Girl Scouts of America, Polish girl scouts do not sell cookies — they get involved with community projects, she said.
The fact that the sisters live just a few doors down from the site of the blaze that started 10:30 p.m. and destroyed buildings on either side, compelled them to act, she said.
Fire on Diamond St. GP Brooklyn @FDNY did a great job. #thanks #cold #brave pic.twitter.com/xK9HdZekAq
— Katie Pergola (@RnsWthSquirrels) February 15, 2016
"I can't imagine how those people feel," said Anna, who called the Red Cross first thing Monday morning and tracked down the group of displaced residents. "They don't have anything."
Fire marshals had not determined the cause of the blaze by Monday afternoon.
Many of the displaced spoke little to no English. Two were elderly Polish women, one of whom had escaped from the burning building barefoot, her son said.
"[She left] without boots, without nothing," said Ireneusz Gardocki, 49, who lived with his 78-year-old mother Alexandra on Diamond St. for the past eight years. Their apartment is now charred and uninhabitable.
"Last night we slept at a friend's house," said Gardocki, who had desperately shaken his elderly mother from her sleep when he smelled smoke Sunday night. "We can stay maybe two nights."
By 3 p.m. Monday the Sawicka sisters, with the help of their father, had amassed a half-dozen garbage bags full of warm clothing from all over the neighborhood.
"They have been a blessing," said Jean Cappello, a volunteer for the Red Cross who'd been using the sisters as Polish translators all day. "They have been amazing."
Like her sister, Magdalena said she'd been involved in her community through the local chapter of Polish Girl Scouts ZHP PGK, and the fact that the fire was literally so close to home made it imperative for her to lend a helping hand.
"Had the fire been worse my house would have [burned]," said Magdalena, who is studying engineering.
"This could have easily been me."
Tony's Pizza kept its doors open late Sunday night and gave out free pizza that night and throughout the day Monday, according to workers there and the Red Cross.
"It's a tragedy for everybody...It hurts the whole neighborhood" said Sal Sinnona, 25, the son of the pizza shop's owner.
"At least everybody came together, nobody closed their doors."
To help the displaced residents of the Greenpoint fire, you can drop off clothing and food donations at Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church at 607 Humboldt St. The church is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 6:30 p.m. They're mostly looking for warm clothes for adults.
