Apartment Building Fire on Binghamton’s West Side Leaves At Least 41 People Without a Home

41 people in Binghamton spent the weekend in a shelter as their apartment building went up in flames.

I live on Binghamton’s West Side and I smelled it as soon as I woke up Sunday morning.  Fire. But it didn’t smell like something from a fireplace fire.  The smell I smelled was a mix of burning wood and rubber.

According to WBNG, fire broke out at an apartment building at 259 Main Street in Binghamton Saturday night. If you’re trying to place the location in your head- the building is located by CVS and Weis Market headed toward Johnson City.

There were 19 apartments in the building and 17 of those apartments were occupied. While it's unclear how many people all together lived in the building, 41 tenants were placed in a local shelter.

When I drove to Price Chopper late Sunday afternoon, the sky was still filled with smoke and crews were still working on making sure the fire was completely out.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Faughnan said the cause of fire is still under investigation, but he believes it started on the third floor of the apartment building and then spread to the attic.

The good in this terrible of this is that all of the residents were able to safely escape and no firefighters were injured.

The Southern Tier Chapter of the American Red Cross was quick to help tenants, sheltering 41 people at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Center and providing food, clothing, and emotional support.

If you'd like to give to the Southern Tier Chapter of the American Red Cross so that they can continue to provide for our neighbors in need, click here.