TUPPER LAKE — Eleven people fled into the cold early Monday when fire swept through their apartment building.
All escaped safely after the blaze broke out about 1:30 a.m. at 51 Main St., across the street from Larkin's Junction Deli and Bakery.
The building contained eight apartments, though some were vacant. Two families with young children, one couple and a single male were displaced, and at least one family lost their Christmas presents.
"They took one little girl to the hospital just as a precaution, but she's fine," said Tupper Lake Mayor Paul Maroun, standing at what remained of the structure.
Maroun said one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, but otherwise, incredibly, no one was injured in the fire.
"The building is a total loss," he said shortly after the road reopened to traffic about noon Monday.
GOOD SAVE
The fire was fought in a densely settled section of Main Street.
"I can tell you this — the fire department, with backup from Saranac Lake and Long Lake, did an excellent job," Maroun said.
"I'm looking at the house next door — it's about 4 feet away, and it has almost no damage. The man who lives there is back in his house, and the power is back on."
SMELLED SMOKE
Jessica Black moved from the Tupper Lake apartment complex to Malone less than a week ago and remains close friends with families, the couple and the man living there.
She has single-handedly mounted a community-relief project to help everyone recover.
"I knew everybody there. I babysat for two of the little boys, Toby and Wyatt, all the time," Black said. "Their mother is Jennifer Burnham."
She recounted the early morning evacuation, which started when one resident smelled smoke.
"Dan Lapierre, he was the only one up in the building when he smelled the smoke," she said of the harrowing scramble to awaken people and get adults, small children and pets out.
"There was nothing but smoke. He ran up to Jennifer's apartment; she was sound asleep. He helped her boyfriend, Joel Ottly, get the boys out. She got the dogs out.
"And then there was also another family that lived in Apartment 2, on the bottom, and they knocked on their door and got them out — that was Mike Russell Jr. and his girlfriend Jessica Yell. And they got their two kids out."
Black spoke with Lapierre at 3 a.m.
"They're all shaken up. Jen (Burnham) is just looking at her 3-year-old, who is crying, saying he wants to go home. She is trying to tell him they have no home; they have no toys."
STAYING WITH FAMILY
Everyone has a temporary place to stay for now, Black said.
"As of right now, Jen (Burnham) and her family are staying with her father, but that is a small living space.
"I do know that Jessica Yell and her family are staying with her mother."
Black placed a call to the North Country Chapter of the American Red Cross, which sent a team to help assist the displaced families.
FACEBOOK HELP
Even as the fire was still being doused, community response poured in with the help of social media, word of mouth and the kindness of family, friends and strangers.
"We have a lot of clothes coming in for them right now, because I started a Facebook page," said Black, a former student at North Country Community College.
The Facebook page is: Donations for the Families Involved in the Structure Fire on 12/12/11.
"It's an event page, and it's open to the public. We have like 10 dropoff places set up in Tupper Lake for different families."
PRESENTS LOST
But the need is staggering, given the ages of the children and the number of people displaced.
"Jen told me she just took $300 worth of Christmas presents up to the apartment that night," Black said of holiday preparations that were under way.
"Christmas is a big thing right now, plus she lost all the baby's things — he (Toby) is 18 months old. He was born two and a half months early; and he has chronic lung disease. He had special oxygen tanks that were lost and a nebulizer."
Both little boys were evaluated by rescue personnel, Black said.
"There was no smoke inhalation — it was amazing, they were in the only room in the apartment that did not collect the smoke. Jen said she could barely see when she got out of her bed."
CAUSE UNKNOWN
The building that burned used to house Roy's Restaurant years ago. It is owned by Jane DuMoulin of Plattsburgh, who could not be reached for comment.
Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Picerno said the fire started in the back of the building.
"At this time, the cause is undetermined, and it is still being investigated," Picerno said Monday.
Franklin County Emergency Services Deputy Director John Bashaw said the fire was called in at about 1:42 a.m. Fire companies from Piercefield, Cranberry Lake, Long Lake, Paul Smith's-Gabriels, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid joined Tupper Lake in responding.
Saranac Lake brought its new ladder truck to Tupper Lake fire, the third time in about five months that its has been needed.
Email Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
