SALISBURY — Days after a five-alarm fire ravaged homes on Atlantic Avenue, the acrid smell of charred wood and metal remained, but the chaos had died down.
On Friday evening, the Salisbury Fire Department responded to a fire at a multi-family home at 24 Atlantic Ave.
By the time first responders were on scene, the fire had spread to another building, eventually damaging four buildings in total and becoming a five-alarm fire.
As a result of the fire, two people sustained serious injuries and were transported to an area hospital.
Last week’s fire comes over four years after a nine-alarm fire on the nearby Central Avenue that impacted a motel, apartment building and single-family homes.
On Monday, though the scene had recently been the site of a massive fire that led to a multi-department response, the site was relatively quiet. But, much of the exterior of 24 Atlantic Ave. had been blackened, a large metal fence was set up around the home and many parts of the structure were boarded up.
Deputy Chief Andy Murphy of the Salisbury Fire Department was on scene Monday, and said the fire’s cause is still under investigation.
Despite Murphy’s presence, Salisbury Fire Chief Scott Carrigan said his department’s role going forward is minimal.
“We really don’t have a lot of involvement with the situation at this point. We turned the property back over to the owners, and it’s kind of their responsibility to make repairs or determine the next step as to the status of the property,” he said.
However, Carrigan said the department could check in with those impacted by the fire to ensure they are feeling supported after the tragedy.
“The one role that the fire department might have at this point is just to follow up with any of the residents that were affected and the property owner to see if they need additional support services,” he said.
Alongside the fire department, a number of local individuals are stepping up to help out the residents of the Atlantic Avenue homes in their time of need.
One of those individuals is Joanne Housianitis, owner of local business Yia-Yia’s Greek Pastries, who is providing food for all those impacted by the tragedy.
Housianitis, who watched the blaze unfold from her nearby home, said she knew she wanted to jump into action.
“I was thinking as I was standing there, ‘everyone’s going to need some help’, and ‘how can I help? I’m a small business owner. What can I do?’ I said ‘well, people really enjoy having some food, they may want some comfort food’. So, I came up with the idea of making spinach pies for all the families and anyone affected in that, as well as Greek pastries,” she said.
So, now, alongside St. Basil’s Ministries, the food group of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Newburyport, Housianitis will prepare at least 20 spinach pies for those impacted, with local people chipping in via Venmo to help Housianitis in her efforts.
Housianitis also said any proceeds left over from community donations will go towards gift cards to places like local grocery stores and CVS.
Similarly, Chrissy Dolan, a local personal chef and owner of Baddass Brands, is facilitating the collection of donations at three local businesses, Linda’s Alpha Omega Beauty Salon, Seacoast Oasis and Salisbury Discount House.
Dolan said each location is collecting gift cards of any kind, clothing donations, toiletries, cash and checks.
Dolan will cook meals for fire victims and allow locals to purchase meals from her at a discounted price that will be delivered to the families. She is also collaborating with local restaurants like Sin-a-Loa Tacos and Tequila, Route 110 Pizza and a number of others who will also donate meals.
For Dolan, the decision to spearhead an effort like this one was a no-brainer, as she has been in the shoes of those who have lost their homes.
“I was in a house fire when I was a little girl, I was only five. So, it was really traumatic. We lost everything, and it just hits hard,” she said.
Dolan also said the community has stepped up to support her in her times of need, and now she is more than happy to do the same for others.
“I’m just so grateful for all the help I received, and I said to everybody, there’s going to come a time where I’m going to be able to pay this forward, and here it is,” she said.