Back home to pick up the pieces after blaze

The lucky ones returned yesterday morning to throw out stinky food from their refrigerators, reset the flashing "12:00" on their clocks, and unpack after four nights away.

They were happy to be home, but they also took time to peer over at the remains of the two severely damaged buildings at Conshohocken's Riverwalk at Millennium complex and wonder about what could have been.

"You almost feel guilty for feeling happy that it didn't affect you," said Preston Moritz, 37, whose two-bedroom apartment was unscathed by Wednesday's fire along the Schuylkill.

The eight-alarm blaze started in a building under construction and destroyed two others, causing up to an estimated $80 million in damages. The fire smoldered for days and struck a blow to the revitalization of the borough.

Moritz said it was simply random that eight months ago he rented a unit in one of two buildings that were spared, just yards from a building that is now uninhabitable.

"It's these things in life, these innocuous things in life, that change everything," he said.

Moritz and most of the other 250 residents in the unaffected buildings moved back home yesterday beginning at 10 a.m. They brought in panting dogs that looked happy to be in familiar surroundings, and they carried out plastic bags filled with food that spoiled when electricity went off.

Today, residents of 32 damaged units will begin returning, each with an escort from the management company and three laborers who will help cart out belongings, said Lauren McDonald, spokeswoman for Bozzuto Management Co.

They won't be able to move back in, but they will try to recover photographs, medicine, and clothing not ruined by smoke and fire.

Elected officials are scheduled to tour the site this afternoon.

Eighty-one units are so severely damaged that only safety specialists with a list of items to retrieve can enter. And 67 units are too dangerous for anyone to enter.

Jay Shrager, 57, saw his apartment burn on CNN while he was in the Dominican Republic on business last week. He arrived at the remains for the first time yesterday with a list of the 30 medicines he takes each day to treat his diabetes.

He didn't know whether anyone would let him in to his damaged unit.

"Number one, I thought about the diabetics and the need to get our drugs," he said.

Even those who entered undamaged apartments yesterday had concerns, particularly about the eventual demolition and promised reconstruction of the burned buildings.

"My rent is remaining the same, and I'm living in a demolition site, basically," said Negrin Naraghi, who worries about construction noise and air quality.

She said she also worried about smoke that may have permeated carpeting, walls and furniture.

"We're forced to keep our windows closed; that's going to jack up our utilities," she said. "If they paid for movers, I would gladly move out. . . . They're doing the absolute minimum for the people that now have to deal with this demolition process."

McDonald said these residents would be refunded four days of rent for when they were forced to relocate and could break their leases until Oct. 1 with 30 days' notice.

Doors that were damaged when firefighters broke in looking for people and pets will be replaced, she said.

Decisions about further assistance have yet to be made.

"At this point, our 100 percent focus has been to reoccupy our residents and ensure their security and safety," McDonald said. "It's been nothing short of a miracle that we got them back in in four days. It's been a heroic effort."

Conshohocken Council President Sandra Caterbone promised that the borough would continue to help in any way it can.

"Just because the fire's over doesn't mean we're done with them," she said.

Jeffrey Datz, one of the residents who moved back in yesterday, said problems for the remaining residents related to cleanup "will come later on."

For now, though, "you've got to keep it in perspective."