65 families displaced, apartment building flooded after intense fire in Soundview
NEW YORK -- Residents at 1420 Noble Ave., in the Bronx have been left to pick up the pieces after fire tore through the 79-unit apartment building on Sunday night.
"Every time I think about it, it is like… it breaks my heart," 65-year-old Julie Lacen said Monday.
Lacen, who lives on the first floor, said her home aide was clocking out of work when she saw fire shooting out of the roof.
"She came back in, 'Julie, come out, come out. There's fire. There's fire.' But I didn't think anything until she pointed up and all that smoke," said Lacen.
READ MORE: 5 hurt, including 1 firefighter, in Bronx apartment building fire
That smoke filled the sky, as nearly 200 firefighters spent hours trying to put the flames out. CBS2 obtained video as residents escaped the building, and firefighters took on thick plumes of smoke on their ladders.
"When I came out of the laundromat, I saw the flames and I said, wow, it was serious. It was really serious," said Eddie Lacend, who also lives in the building.
Dozens of the residents spent Monday sitting outside the building, just waiting for any sign of being able to get back in.
The Red Cross began assisting residents on Sunday evening. An on-site staff members told CBS2 that 65 families have registered for help so far. But residents said they are being offering temporary stays in other boroughs.
"Not everybody can go to Staten Island or Brooklyn," said Sabrina Santos, whose family lives in the building.
With the amount of water used to put the fire out, crews spent hours pumping out over 2 feet on the first floor and in the boiler room.
Lacen was able to go back inside briefly Monday morning.
"So much water from the hallway," she said. "Looks like the ceilings are gonna come down."
Residents said they heard they'll be able to go back into the building on Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to collect some items.
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