Fire Ravaged Building Reopened, But Not All Residents Allowed To Return

Residents of the Bel-Air building at 2775 East 12th Street are being allowed to return to their homes after a fire forced them to evacuate on Saturday.

Sheepshead Bites visited the building today and found residents buzzing about the building’s entrance, many carrying bags. It was hopefully the end of the two-day ordeal, in which the residents relocated to the homes of friends and family, and American Red Cross also provided an emergency shelter at Bay Academy Junior High School.

However, not everyone is being allowed back to their apartments, according to one Sheepshead Bites commenter. She writes:

Apparently they are turning the lights on in order of your apartment, but not everyone is guaranteed to be allowed into their apartment tonight. The power in the building is restored but not all the wings have power. They are urging everyone to have someone stop by and speak to the super so he can verify if your apartment will have power.

On Sunday, management for the Bel-Air building taped a typed statement onto the front door’s of the building.

“Building management is on site and is working with our licensed engineers and Con Edison representatives to restore power as soon as possible. We will organize escorted access during the hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm,” said KQR Management LLC.

The management company did not return calls for comment by the time this story went to press.

The fire broke out in the electrical room at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, at first causing power outages to the apartment units.

“At first I thought it was just my apartment, but then I found it happened to everyone else,” said a resident.

“It was hectic on Saturday, there was a lot of commotion,” said another resident.