After a fire engulfed Mary McCabe’s home on Anglers Road home in Greenport last month, family members, neighbors, local businesses and community organizations rallied to support her.
Ms. McCabe, the sole resident of 250 Anglers Road, told The Suffolk Times she was resting in her room the afternoon of Nov. 16 Saturday when she heard her smoke detector go off. She credits that device, which was installed two years ago by the American Red Cross, with saving her life.
“The back of the house — I could just see black smoke, and I could hear glass breaking,” Ms. McCabe said.
“So, I went back in my bedroom to try to find the cat — but I couldn’t find her,” she explained through tears. “The house was filling with smoke, and I knew I just had to get out.” She adopted her cat, Minnie, from Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton. Minnie was 14 years old when she died in the fire.
Ms. McCabe called 911 after rushing out of the house — barefoot and in her pajamas — as she watched the flames rise from her home of 28 years.
The Greenport, Southold, Shelter Island, Cutchogue and Mattituck fire departments responded to the Saturday fire shortly after Ms. McCabe evacuated the one-story, three-bedroom house around 12:42 p.m. They battled the blaze for more than two hours that afternoon, according to the Cutchogue Fire Department.
The neighboring house, 190 Anglers Road, sustained some damage to its vinyl siding but was saved by the fire departments. “It was a fully-involved fire upon arrival,” Greenport Fire Department chief Albie de Kerillis said. “All we could do was protect the second house — and we did that.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Mr. de Kerillis said.
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The Greenport Fire Department began to battle the blaze at 250 Anglers Road in Greenport Nov. 16 at 12:44 p.m. (Courtesy photo) -
The Southold, Shelter Island, Cutchogue and Mattituck fire departments responded to help the Greenport Fire Department fight the fire and save the home next door, 190 Anglers Road. (Courtesy photo)
“I have to say, everybody has been so wonderful,” Ms. McCabe said. “From the cops that came, to the ambulance people that came, to the fire department, everyone was so kind and helpful. All of my neighbors and my friends.”
Community members from throughout Greenport, including Father Piotr Narkiewicz of Saint Agnes R.C. Church, the owners of Billy’s by the Bay, the Marian Council Columbiettes and the Scared Heart Rosary Society, have shown their support through fundraisers efforts and offering a shoulder to lean on.
“So many people have given me things or offered things,” Ms. McCabe said. “And it’s just so wonderful to have all of that love in a small town.”
While her home remains uninhabitable due to a collapsed roof and heavy scorching, Ms. McCabe has been staying with a friend in East Marion. She recently acquired a mobile home that can be situated on the Anglers Road property until the house is repaired, but hasn’t moved in yet as she waits for basic utilities to be hooked up the trailer.
“It’s pretty much demolished, the house — and my high school year book and all of my son’s baby pictures,” Ms. McCabe said. “I just try to keep focusing not on the stuff, but that I’m still here.”