By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer
Community rallies for families displaced by Monday’s downtown fire

LEWISTON – Victims of the fire that destroyed a downtown apartment building Monday needed so much. Even the rescuers cried.

“I’m supposed to be Mr. Red Cross guy,’ ready for all kinds of emergencies,” said Eric Lynes, the emergency services director for the American Red Cross in Lewiston. “I’m not supposed to be affected. But this one got to me.”

The morning fire on Blake Street left about 30 people homeless, sending all but one of the 10 families to a local motel. The fire also killed a 5-year-old boy.

“These people need so much,” Lynes said of the victims. None of the tenants had renter’s insurance. Few even had cars.

“For these people, the fire took everything,” Lynes said.

For Martha Taylor, who shared an apartment on the fourth floor with six members of her family, she can only guess that everything is gone.

Firefighters haven’t let her go back inside. But from the sidewalk out front, she can peek into her former bedroom. She can see the blackened ceiling and the insulation hanging.

“All we have is what people have given us,” she said. The loss of her home means she must wait in her room at the Chalet Motel, caring for her still-frightened twin daughters, 4-year-olds Misty and Kristy.

“I’m trying to get new medication and find a new apartment,” Taylor said Wednesday afternoon.

However, the only apartment she could find that was big enough for her whole family – herself, the girls, her boyfriend, her mom, stepdad and a nephew – was also on a fourth floor.

“I can’t do that again,” Taylor said, standing in the doorway of her motel room, safe on a second floor.

In her mind, she replays the image of one of her daughters being carried from the fire, covered with a blanket and a layer of firefighters’ foam.

“It’s not safe,” she said.

And it’s not her only concern. She and the girls all have epilepsy, and she’s been having trouble filling the prescriptions to replace the melted bottles firefighters salvaged from her home.

“We’re doing what we can,” Taylor said.

Other families are faring better. Several have already found new apartments. All the victims have some new clothes. And all have a place to stay.

Lynes, who works at the United Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the interest in donations seems high. Between Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon, at least 100 people had called.

“It’s overwhelming,” Lynes said. “People were touched by this disaster.”

Some people want to donate furniture or clothes, something the Red Cross is unequipped to help.

Tammy Edwards, a woman from Sabattus, is hoping to collect furniture and other items for victims, perhaps creating a daylong benefit event.

But she’s not sure how it would work.

Of course, she’d like people to send money to the Red Cross if they can.

Nothing is better, Lynes said. “It’s quick. It’s fast. It’s clean.”

Meanwhile, another charity is taking on the sadder chore, helping to pay for the funeral of 5-year-old Anthony Lilly.

The Portland-based Root Cellar, a Christian nonprofit, is collecting donations for the boy’s funeral, scheduled for today.

“He felt like a member of the family,” said Taylor, who lived in the apartment above the boy. “He was a sweetheart.”

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