Police

Special Report: Path to recovery for local house fire victims

Who: Karen and Jack Pollack When: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Where: Greenport What happened: Karen Pollack went to the basement to look for a screwdriver and came up shortly after, only to find that her “whole life had changed.” A fire had ripped through the home and filled it with smoke so dark she couldn’t see. Ms. Pollack’s husband, Jack — who was physically disabled as the result of a violent assault decades ago — was unable to make it out of the fire. He died at the age of 61. The couple’s pet dog also died in the fire.
Who: Karen and Jack Pollack
When: Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Where: Greenport
What happened: Karen Pollack went to the basement to look for a screwdriver and came up shortly after, only to find that her “whole life had changed.” A fire had ripped through the home and filled it with smoke so dark she couldn’t see. Ms. Pollack’s husband, Jack — who was physically disabled as the result of a violent assault decades ago — was unable to make it out of the fire. He died at the age of 61. The couple’s pet dog also died in the fire.

Miles away in Southold Town, Karen Pollack is trying to plan out her future. Spread across her dining room table are stacks of papers. In the stacks are window designs, floor plans and other details for her soon-to-be renovated home.

Ms. Pollack has been staying with her mother since a fire swept through her Greenport Village home last March. It’s a warm bed and a roof over her head, Ms. Pollack said, but it’s not the same.

“It’s not your home,” she said.

Ms. Pollack not only lost her First Street house in the fire, but also her beloved husband, Jack, and the couple’s dog.

Ms. Pollack said the pain is immeasurable.

“I’m struggling with profound grief,” she admitted. “Imagine the worst day of your life. Multiply it by a thousand and that’s what I went through that night.”

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Ms. Pollack blamed herself. Had she put too many logs on the fire? Had it spread to the carpet and burned away everything she had?

“I thought I had killed my husband and burned my house down,” she said. “I blamed myself and I thought it was carelessness.” She soon learned that the cause of the fire was unrelated to the fireplace; there was nothing she could have done.

Most nights, she’s restless. Nightmares wake her in the early morning hours and keep her awake.

“I dream about Jack every night,” she said. “I try to get through the day. I try to keep a smile on my face.”

Like so many other fire victims, Ms. Pollack has had friends and family reach out to support her. Ms. Pollack also has insurance on her home and is working now to iron out the details of what the insurance company will cover.

She said having a single task to do each day helps, but the winter doldrums have set in. Without something physical to do, it becomes easy to get discouraged.

But Ms. Pollack said she’s inspired by her late husband’s attitude: never give up. So she doesn’t.

“It’s only going to get better,” she said.