PHOTO BY JEFF BRESSLERby Erica Jackson
Today is Katie Byrnes’ 11th birthday, but rather than happily marking the occasion with family and friends at home, her family must spend the day sifting through the rubble that was once their home.
Around 3:20 on Tuesday afternoon, the Byrnes family lost everything when their house, located at 66 Amsterdam Road in Smithtown went up in flames. Katie and her older brother, Peter were home with a friend, when they smelled smoke and ran from the house. Within minutes, the house was in flames.It was nothing like neighbor Lynda LaCour had ever seen before. “I was taking my son to his friend’s house when I saw the smoke, I sped down the road and saw the kids running in the road. It was wild. One side of the house was completely on fire.”
LaCour said police and firefighters were on the scene within minutes. According to Jeff Bressler, public information officer for the Smithtown Fire Department, when fire fighters arrived they found the house fully engulfed in flames. “Lines were stretched and firefighters operated hoses both in the interior and exterior of the structure,” said Bressler, but soon, the roof on the right side of the building was in danger of collapse and the house was evacuated. The house was secured and when deemed safe by the fire chief, firefighters reentered the house and doused the remaining flames. It took firefighters nearly three hours to completely extinguish the fire.
Several firefighters, said Bressler, where treated on the scene for heat exhaustion, fatigue and dehydration. The cause of the fire, said Bressler, is still under investigation by the fire marshall. ( Pictures and information about the fire can be seen at the Smithtown Fire Dept.website www.smithtownfd.org)
The Byrnes family is staying in a local hotel and over the past few days they have been working to take an account of all of their salvageable belongings. “Basically, they have lost everything,” said neighbor and friend Barbara Smith. “Thank God they are all safe, but they are so devastated and lost so much. They can rebuild, but there is only so much that they can get back.”
Smith said she saw the fire first hand and watching her friend’s house crumble in the flames, she knew she had to do something to help. “Watching it, it was enough to make anyone want to reach out and help.” Just a day after the fire, Smith and her children started a collection for the family. Her children, have been going door to door asking for donations. So far, they have collected $700. Their efforts have prompted neighbors and friends to drop off clothing and other needed items to the Smith home over the past few days. “The outpouring has been great,” said Smith, who says there is so much more the family needs from basic toiletries and clothing to back-to-school supplies and food. And eventually, she said, they will need furnishings for temporary living quarters either in an apartment or rented home. Smith said she is continuing to collect donations at her home at 5 Mulberry Drive in Smithtown. People can stop by and drop items off or if they chose, they can make cash donations or gift cards, which Smith says will be beneficial.
Smith will also be holding a fundraiser on September 11 from noon to 2:00 at the Sports Arena in St. James. The cost will be $25 per family and 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the Byrnes family. Smith said families can spend an afternoon at the arena roller skating, playing dodge ball and kickball.
In addition, items for a Chinese auction are being collected for the event and people looking to donate items for auction can reach Smith at Barbsmith96@yahoo.com or by calling her at 265-7925. Aside from the September 11 fundraiser, Smith says fellow neighbor Jeannie Weller is working on a community garage sale to benefit the Byrnes. Details for that fundraiser are still being worked out.
LaCour and her family are also working to collect items for the Byrnes family. Via her website, Smithtownmomstown.com, LaCour is asking for donations. “I wanted to get the family help,” said LaCour, “I also have a resource [the website] that can help.”
So far, LaCour says the response has been amazing. “Women who don’t even know the family have brought over clothes and kitchen wear,” said LaCour.
LaCour says she will continue to collect donations for the Byrnes family and anyone wishing to make a donation, can call her at 656-0216 or e-mail her at lynda@smithtownmomstown.com.