Community Raises $17K For Man Rendered Homeless By UWS Fire

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — Anthony Trotter was finishing up work in his Upper West Side apartment last Thursday when he started to smell smoke.

It wasn't long before he realized that his apartment building was on fire — a fire that quickly grew to a three-alarm blaze and took more than 130 firefighters to extinguish. The flames broke out in the fifth floor of the seven-story 241 West 101st St. building just before 4 p.m. and quickly spread to the top floor, where Trotter lived.

"As the smoke engulfed my apartment I realized I didn’t have time to gather my valuables and would need to immediately get out of there," Trotter later wrote on a GoFundMe, adding that he even had to leave behind his cat, who was later rescued by a firefighter.

"My apartment and all my personal possessions were completely destroyed by the smoke, flames, water, and firefighter demolition.

(Courtesy of Anthony Trotter).

The fire would leave seven people, five civilians and two firefighters, with non-life threatening injuries, according to the FDNY.

Trotter, a 26-year-old youth counselor, found himself homeless from the fire and started the GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet, the West Side Rag first reported.

The fundraiser surpassed Trotter's $15,000 goal within days, raising almost $18,000 as of Tuesday to help Trotter find permanent housing and replace his possessions.

He has been staying at a hotel provided by the Red Cross in Midtown, which was recently extended to Friday, but will need to find somewhere to go at the end of the week, Trotter told Patch.

"The funds I raise will assist me with obtaining permanent housing, clothing, shoes, furniture, bedding, kitchenware, etc," he wrote on the fundraiser.

"In this uncertain time, I know many people are facing their own hardships and I am extremely grateful for any amount you are able to donate."

To read more or to donate find Trotter's GoFundMe here.

Trotter's cat was rescued by firefighters. (Courtesy of Anthony Trotter).

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