75 residents left homeless after two fires at Wappingers Falls apartment complex

Over the weekend, authorities responded to two separate fires at Brookside Garden Apartments on Colonial Drive, leading to the displacement of numerous residents.

The first incident occurred on Friday afternoon – then at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, the flames were back tearing through the entire building.

Esad Muratovic, the complex superintendent, he says he kept checking the building throughout the day and night and luckily, he decided to check once more before going to sleep.

"We managed to evacuate the tenants…thank God nobody got hurt, everybody's safe,"he said.

A total of 16 apartments were affected, leaving 75 people displaced.

As a precaution, workers have boarded up the apartments, not only to restrict unaccompanied access for residents but also to safeguard the premises from potential looters.

The superintendent says they escorted residents in to retrieve salvageable belongings.

"There is tremendous water damage. It is considered condemned," said Elizabeth Berchielli, a victim of the fire.

The Hudson Valley chapter of the American Red Cross stepped in to offer shelter for affected families over the weekend at Wappingers Junior High School. With the reopening of the school, the shelter has been relocated to the former First Presbyterian Church on South Avenue.

The cause of the fires has not been released yet.