Standing outside the charred rubble of the Main Road home gutted by fire this week, tenant Nixon Antonio Catalan Velize had tears in his eyes yesterday as he surveyed the wreckage.
His friend Jesus Cruz said at least six residents were living in the Peconic house at the time of the fire, including at least four men and a woman with a little girl. Cruz explained he speaks English more fluently than his friend so he’d taken time off from work to advocate for the tenants, who he said were afraid to complain about the conditions of the home because some may have been undocumented immigrants and were fearful of deportation. Cruz said residents used an electric fireplace and a wood stove in the kitchen and slept under piles of blankets to stay warm.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Southold Fire Marshal Bob Fisher said. Possible causes include a wood-burning stove or an electrical problem, he said. There had been no past code enforcement action against the premises, Fisher said.
According to Cruz, the home had been rented by one tenant who then rented out rooms to others for $500 per month each. The tenants refer to the man they rented from as a “house manager.” At one point, Velize said as many as 12 people had lived inside the home, with five crowded into a single bedroom, including a small child.
It is not known if the property owner was aware the rooms were rented out to multiple people.
A “property manager” renting out rooms without a property owner’s knowledge is “a standard stunt,” Fisher said. “It’s not the only place in town like that,” he added.
At the scene of the fire Tuesday, tenants pointed out to a reporter a man they said was the owner of the house. The man refused comment and declined to give his name.
“I won’t speak to the press,” he said.
According to Southold Town records, the property, located at 45805 Main Road, Peconic, is owned by William Gorman. Attempts to reach Gorman by phone yesterday were unsuccessful.
The home is classified by the town as a single-family dwelling. Currently Southold Town code does not require a property owner to have a permit to rent a single-family home. But the code limits occupancy of a single-family home to no more than five unrelated individuals. To house more than five, an owner is required to have a permit for a boarding house or bed and breakfast. No such permit had been issued for the house in question, according to the fire marshal. It also had no wood stove installation permit as required by code, as far as he was aware, Fisher said.
“Codes are basically written to reflect that a man’s home is his castle,” Fisher said. “We don’t wander around peeking in windows.” The town does commence investigations once they receive reports of possible overcrowding or unsafe conditions, but unless complaints are reported by neighbors concerned about quality-of-life conditions, town officials might not know such a situation exists, the fire marshal said.
An investigation by code enforcement is moot after a fire like that renders a home uninhabitable, Fisher noted.
Cruz shook his head as he looked at his friend’s former home. Velize lost everything, including his life savings, clothes, a beloved collection of tropical fish, family photographs and jewelry, he said. “Everything burned.”
“He’s been treating these guys like animals. Everyone has rights. We’re all human,” he said. “These are just hardworking people who came here for a better life,” he said. “They’re not gang members, they’re good people who work hard every day.”
