Deer Park apartment fire displaces 56 units, residents begin returning

Residents of 56 Deer Park apartments began moving back in Thursday after spending five days scrambling for beds, groceries and a place to stay following a fire that spread through Maple Crest Garden Apartments at 467 Baldwin Path.

The Sunday, April 12 blaze broke out around noon and raced into at least 10 apartments before about 75 firefighters from eight departments brought it under control in just under an hour. No residents were hurt, but one firefighter was taken to Stony Brook Hospital. Even apartments that did not burn were hit by smoke, water damage and utility shutoffs, making the return home slower and more complicated than a simple reopening of the building.

The Red Cross said it stepped in with emergency housing for eight people, including one child, while the rest of the displaced tenants stayed with friends or relatives. It also provided food and mental health support as families tried to sort out ruined groceries, missing belongings and the uncertainty of whether they would be able to get back inside quickly. The disruption hit a large apartment community all at once, underscoring how a single kitchen fire can ripple through a tight Long Island rental market where finding another unit on short notice is rarely easy.

Town of Babylon officials said the fire appeared accidental and may have started after clothes were left on a stove that had been turned on. The cause was still being investigated in the earlier stages of the response, but the damage was already clear to tenants returning home Thursday: some units had to be checked again before electricity could be restored, and crews had to make sure the building was safe for re-entry.

For some residents, the ordeal carried an added layer of worry. Desiree Parrillo returned to her smoke-filled apartment Monday after flames tore through apartments next door for the second time in three years. The same building in the Maple Crest complex caught fire in 2023, and several residents affected by that earlier blaze were still living there when the April 12 fire broke out. That history made the return home feel less like a reset than another reminder of how quickly housing stability can disappear in a matter of minutes, leaving Suffolk families to rebuild routines around damaged walls, spoiled food and the lingering fear of another evacuation.