Bridgeport Fire: One Week Later

One week after a first-floor fire forced an extended evacuation of all residents and pets from my apartment building, there is hope that we may be able to return next week.

In an email to all residents, Woodward Properties said they are aiming for "early next week." While the communication has been regular, including where to find free meals, it is still unknown how back-rent credits will be distributed for the week that apartments were not habitable. It's a bit more straightforward for me because I'm moving to Pottstown as soon as I can get my things.

The article below appeared in local news sites, including the Times-Herald, Reporter, and Mercury.

By Mike Hays

BRIDGEPORT — “Bridgeport has been kicked in the mouth too many times,” one borough official said during the early morning hours of Feb. 22.

Before 6 a.m. at the emergency warming center inside council chambers, a neighbor of mine donning an Eagles winter hat sat where the borough engineer usually does up on the dais. He lives just a couple doors down from the first floor apartment where the blaze started. We speculated about the possible cause of the fire, which remains under investigation.

From a practical safety standpoint, none of us can inhabit the building on Third Street for at least two weeks — March 8 — due to extensive smoke damage throughout all seven floors. That was the preliminary assessment offered by Police Chief Todd Bereda and Woodward Properties management.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, residents could call a dedicated phone line to get on a waitlist to access their apartment for a second time for clothing and other items left behind. The first opportunity came late Saturday morning, but residents were limited to 10-15 minutes under an escort to ensure everyone had a chance to get inside. I threw together a suitcase and backpack with all the essentials I could think of.

Back at borough hall, we gathered en masse with about 80 of my neighbors, shell-shocked yet grateful to be indoors from the mid-20 degree deep freeze. Borough Manager Keith Truman flipped on the projection screen and offered to turn on the news or play the movie “Top Gun.”

It was a near unanimous vote for “Top Gun.”

Bridgeport Suites, formerly known as the Towers, is an eclectic mix of folks young and old. Most people in the 136-unit complex keep to themselves, so the middle-of-the-night emergency almost felt like the tenants’ meeting we’ve never had in my three years living there.

There’s Carol, who works at Giant, as well as Craig, the maintenance guy who used to work at LeBus Bakery. Another familiar face who serves at Workhorse Brewery checked in with the American Red Cross a few hours after everyone else. My next door neighbor, Beverly, lamented the fact that she couldn’t get to work on time. That’s commitment.

To my left, sitting in front of the mayor’s spot on the dais, several older residents sipped coffee and recounted the hazy sequence of events that unfolded around 1:30 a.m.

“You didn’t hear the alarm for that long?” one of them remarked.

I didn’t either. By my own estimate, about 10 minutes elapsed until I woke up from some combination of smoke and the blaring fire alarm in the hallway (I sleep with earplugs). The hallways, while navigable, were filled with a haze all the way up on the fourth floor. A thin layer of soot covered everything when I returned about eight hours later to gather belongings.

Insurance claims and adjustments await.

In times of mistrust and skepticism of our civic institutions, it’s important to acknowledge when things go right. A big part of the government’s responsibility is preventing bad situations from getting worse. I want to thank Bridgeport Borough officials, firefighters and other first responders from around the region, as well as the Southeastern PA Red Cross, and local businesses and volunteers for stepping up to help in the middle of the night. Possessions can be replaced, but people cannot and thankfully no one perished in the fire.

That is something worth appreciating in our community.

Mike Hays is a former staff writer for The Mercury and works as a legislative aide in the office of state Rep. Joe Ciresi. He is co-founder of the Montco 30% Project which advocates for affordable housing solutions in Montgomery County. He is a resident of Bridgeport Suites.