On behalf of Peabody Properties, Inc., management agent for Powdermill Village Apartments, our heartfelt thanks to everyone for the rapid and caring response to the recent fire which threatened the safety, security and comfort of our residents at Powdermill Village, Westfield, Mass.
Westfield Firefighters, with help from local departments, worked diligently for hours to control the blaze at our 250-unit community. Their rapid response and assistance prevented the outcome from being more disastrous than it was. We are so grateful that there were no injuries to any of the residents.
This was truly a genuine mutual effort by all involved and, therefore, I want to be sure to recognize everyone who assisted us that day and the days that have followed. We would like to thank Westfield Police, Fire, Red Cross, Salvation Army and Emergency Management, as well as the Tenants Association of Powdermill Village, Mayor Sullivan, the Pace Program staff, neighboring fire departments, the Powdermill Village management team and Peabody Properties staff members — John McKee, Tracy Lynch, Lisa Gagne, Donna Sue Gideon, Gerald Kele, Eggy Santana, Mark Regan, Kevin Mourino, Eric Lopez, Kathy Talbot and Lurdes Morales. For several families at Powdermill Village, English is their second language, so we are also grateful to our bilingual colleagues and staff for providing that additional support which allowed us to better communicate with residents in their native language, helping them to best understand the situation and resources available to them.
The Powdermill team is staying united through this difficult time and are continuing to find ways to meet the needs of the 21 families displaced. We are working with a number of organizations to help find solutions.
A successful “Resource Fair” was held for the displaced residents which was coordinated by the City of Westfield and Westfield’s Director of Emergency Management and MEMA’s Disaster Response, with numerous city and state agencies represented:
o City Public Health, Police and Housing Authority
o Westfield Boys and Girls Club which provided youth with free backpacks
o Powdermill Village Resident Volunteers which coordinated local donations
o Salvation Army which provided lunch
o Red Cross which provided coffee, snacks, etc. and assisted with sign-in and other logistics
o State Mental Health Crisis Counseling
o State Elder Affairs
o State Dept. of Transitional Assistance
o State Office of Refugee and Immigration
o State Public Health and
o State Dept. of Children Services and Families
Community is such a powerful word, and over these past two weeks, we have witnessed a community coming together in support, strength and connection – making things that seemed impossible become possible.
Thank you all for what you have done and are doing to help.
With our deepest thanks and admiration,
Melissa Fish-Crane
Peabody Properties
