Valley Stream school aids fire victims

A fire late last month on Cedar Street left two families homeless. Officials at the nearby Clear Stream Avenue School collected items for the four children who were affected.

Courtesy Larry Fox

The District 30 community is stepping up to help two families that were displaced after their house caught fire last month. About a dozen people were left homeless, including four children who attended Clear Stream Avenue School.

Principal John Singleton has organized a fundraiser for the students. Three will return to Clear Stream in September, attending third, fourth and sixth grade, while the fourth will begin seventh grade at Memorial Junior High School. Anyone in the community is welcome to donate, Singleton said.

At 2 p.m. on July 27, fire broke out on the second floor of 6 Cedar St., across the street from the school. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control in about a half-hour and contain it to a corner of the top floor, but the house was left uninhabitable, suffering heavy smoke and water damage.

According to the Nassau County fire marshal’s office, the cause is still under investigation.

One family is staying with relatives on the other side of Valley Stream, Singleton said, but he is unsure where the other family is living. Children from both families, even if they are living in temporary housing outside the district, are welcome to return in September, he said. “As homeless students, they’re still entitled to go to their last school, by law,” he explained.

Regardless of the law, district officials, Singleton said, want to do their part to help the students affected by the fire. “All of the kids got out OK,” he said, noting that they were at home when the fire broke out. “They’re all shaken up by it. It’s a harrowing experience for them.”

Singleton had left school before the fire started, but returned the following Monday to see the damaged home across the street.

He has set up a box for donations at the school, and said he is hopeful that the community will be generous with such items as toiletries, socks and shirts, and school supplies. Gift cards to stores such as Target or Walmart would also be welcome, he said, so the children can pick out some items for themselves.