Early on Friday July 19, a fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. in a garage on Highland Ave, McGraw, leaving three families homeless.
"My fiancé saw that there was a fire outside first," said Laniesha Aiyana, resident of one of the homes that was burned down. "He then grabbed my son and daughter and woke me up. We went outside and our neighbors were coming out as well. We then waited for the fire department to arrive."
The fire started at a garage before spreading to two surrounding homes, including an apartment building. It took the fire department about an hour to control the fire.
There were no injuries reported at the scene, and the cause of the incident is still under investigation.
"We are currently staying at my fiancé's mom's place," said Aiyana. "We are looking to relocate eventually, but we are trying to figure things out as of now."
At the time of publication we were unable to reach other families affected for comment.
All three families have a GoFundMe page:
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-rebuilding-after-tragic-fire
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-relocating-after-fire
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/my-parents-have-lost-everything-due-to-a-fire
If you have any furniture, clothes, dishes, etc. that you would like to donate; you can drop them off at the lobby of Crown Park Nursing Home on 28 Kellogg Road, Cortland NY, 13045.
This story may be updated.
