SALAMANCA, N.Y. — Damage from a fire Monday evening at Hillview Manor on Chestnut Street was mostly contained to a single apartment, and Salamanca Housing Authority Director Rich Zurat said he is “very surprised” other apartments weren’t impacted even by smoke damage.
“It seemed chaotic,” he said of the fire scene Monday, “but the people who were involved and people running the show at that point knew what they were doing and did it well. They diverted the possibility of a bigger tragedy, quite frankly.”
Salamanca Fire Department investigators determined the fire was accidental due to “improperly discarded smoking material,” according to a statement provided by the department.
Tenants are allowed to smoke cigarettes within their apartments but not in common areas, Zurat said, but admitted it’s a policy the New York State Homes and Community Renewal has been “looking at for a while.”
“That might be coming down the pike for a lot of reasons,” he said about the potential of prohibiting smoking in housing complexes like Hillview Manor. “Obviously for safety reasons, but also just turnover — when you turnover an apartment and you have someone who was a smoker it’s twice the work to ‘prep’ it and get it to its (original) state.”
Approximately 50 tenants, mostly senior citizens, were evacuated from their rooms shortly after 9:30 p.m. Monday when a fire broke out in a second story apartment. Zurat said all tenants, except for the tenant in whose apartment the fire started, have returned to their residences.
An insurance adjuster is expected to be at the apartment complex Thursday to aid the Salamanca Housing Authority in obtaining quotes for initial cleanup and remediation.
Zurat said Wednesday the impacted apartment will “basically have a total rebuild” including the kitchen, living room, walls and ceilings to remedy damage caused by the fire. The hallway on the second floor suffered only minor smoke damage.
He expects the hallway carpet, as well as the carpet in the damaged apartment, to be replaced.
The Salamanca Fire Department had one of its vehicles at the scene three minutes after the call was placed at 9:34 p.m., according to Fire Chief Nicholas Bocharski.
“Firefighters were met with heavy smoke on the entire second floor and heavy fire from a second story apartment,” he said.
“It could have been a lot worse than what it was,” said Zurat. “Their response was phenomenal and I’m impressed with the lack of water damage. Obviously they had to extinguish it but we have almost zero water damage.”
The majority of residents returned to their apartments the evening of the fire once the scene was deemed safe by the Salamanca Fire Department, although some tenants with apartments closest to the fire stayed with friends and family that night, Zurat said.
Salamanca Fire Department officials said the fire caused an estimated $20,000 to $25,000 worth of damage, but Zurat said he is in the early stages of determining a more definitive figure.
The Salamanca Fire Department was assisted by the Killbuck Volunteer Fire Department, the Allegany Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Department, Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Deputies, the Seneca Nation Marshals and the Salamanca Police Department.
“It’s a pretty scary thing and sometimes the worst things run through your head,” Zurat admitted. “But I was so impressed with the job they did and the efficiency in which they did it.”
