A fund set up to support victims of a Memorial Day rowhome fire in Easton has raised tens of thousands of dollars.
The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley said Friday that the Ferry Street Fire Fund has raised over $67,200, which has been distributed to people affected by the May blaze.
According to a release more than 200 people and organizations donated to the fund, which was established between the United Way and the Greater Easton Development Partnership.
“Given the scale of the fire, it was important to partner with a regional organization like United Way to bring more visibility to the issue and, ultimately, more funds to help the households impacted by the fire,” Jared Mast, Executive Director of the GEDP said in the release.
Donors included BSI Corporate Benefits, C.F. Martin & Co. Inc., Crayola, the F.M. Kirby Foundation and Human Active Technology.
Other organizations like St. John’s Lutheran Church also contributed donations collected by the community.
The May 29 fire broke out in the 900 block of Ferry Street in Easton and grew into a multi-alarm blaze, drawing responses from 39 fire departments in Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks and Montgomery counties, as well as Warren County, New Jersey. Numerous EMS, police, utility companies and other agencies also assisted.
The fire destroyed or damaged 16 homes, and displaced 32 residents, including nine children and two senior citizens. Ten homes will need to be demolished.
The United Way said around $31,000 of the fund’s total went directly to impacted residents, while $36,000 went to the Third Street Alliance for Women & Children to provide stable housing for nine families who cannot return to their homes.
“The generosity of donors to the Ferry Street Fire Fund allowed us to mobilize and offer housing search assistance, security deposits and rental assistance to rapidly re-house households impacted by the fire,” said Alisa Baratta, Executive Director of the Third Street Alliance.
She called the funding initiative, “a hallmark of what makes Easton, and the greater Lehigh Valley, such a wonderful place to live.”
All funds were raised and distributed between May 31 and Aug. 23.
In June, Easton Fire Department Chief Henry Hennings said the rowhomes caught up in the blaze did not have fire walls between the properties.
The buildings were also built in 1900 and shared a common wall with wood frame construction, which Hennings said allowed the fire to rapidly spread.
(Original air-date: 9/10/23)
