The American Red Cross in Greater New York said it is helping 387 people after responding to 32 emergencies across the five boroughs between February 2 and February 8, more than double the number it assisted the week before.
In a disaster response summary released February 9, the organization said the largest single incident of the week was a fire on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx on February 2 that displaced 42 households totaling 131 individuals. The four-alarm blaze, which broke out around 12:20 a.m. at 1215 Grand Concourse, left dozens of residents homeless, with the Red Cross registering more than 100 displaced people at a nearby school. That fire accounted for the bulk of the 179 people the Red Cross said it helped across seven emergencies in the borough, which also included fires on Commonwealth Avenue, Stratford Avenue, Anderson Avenue, Parkview Avenue, Heath Avenue and Kingsland Avenue. The Anderson Avenue fire on February 5 affected eight households, or 26 people, according to the agency.
The Red Cross said it assisted 105 people after 15 emergencies in Brooklyn during the same week. Among the largest of those was a fire on Halsey Street on February 4 that affected eight households totaling 23 people and a fire on Pennsylvania Avenue on February 6 that affected six households totaling 19 people, the organization said. It also cited fires on Bedford Avenue, Sackman Street, Liberty Avenue, Broadway, 47th Street and DeKalb Avenue. The agency’s accounting of the week extended to additional boroughs and incidents beyond those it detailed for the Bronx and Brooklyn.
The February 9 update marked a sharp increase from the prior week. In a separate summary released February 2, the Red Cross said it had helped 161 people after 32 emergencies between January 26 and February 1. That total included 53 people across 10 emergencies in the Bronx and 44 people across nine emergencies in Brooklyn, the organization said.
The Bronx fires that week included incidents on Fairfield Avenue, Valentine Avenue, Dean Avenue, Adee Avenue, Chatterton Avenue, Intervale Avenue, Grand Concourse, Morris Park Avenue, Findlay Avenue and Park Avenue, according to the Red Cross. The largest of those displaced two households, or 10 people, after a fire on Chatterton Avenue on January 28. In Brooklyn, the agency listed fires on Stillwell Avenue, Lincoln Road, Saratoga Avenue, Avenue I and Putnam Avenue, among others.
The Red Cross provides emergency assistance such as temporary housing, financial support and recovery resources to people displaced by home fires and other disasters. The organization can be reached at its Greater New York media line at 646-627-9328.
