Editor's Note: It was erroneously reported earlier in this story that Plesnick escaped the fire with his mother. In fact, according to a family friend, it was Plesnick's friend, Chris and Chris' mother that escaped the blaze.
The owner of a Holbrook market escaped with his life from a Calverton fire that engulfed his entire home, reducing it to ashes, and now his sister has launched a campaign to help get him back on his feet.
Stephen Plesnick owns the Community Market on Patchogue-Holbrook Road in Holbrook. Last Sunday he and his mother were home when he suddenly realized his two-story house on Twomey Avenue in Calverton had caught fire. The both of them escaped, along with Plesnick's three dogs.
According to reports in Riverhead Local, Plesnick also had two cats. One leapt from the window and is recovering from scrapes and burns, while the other remains missing.
Volunteers from four departments battled the fire. By the time the flames were tamped, however, the entire structure of the home, including some trees in the front yard were demolished. Footage of the blaze were captured by Denise Civiletti, a reporter for Riverhead Local, and uploaded to YouTube.
Now Plesnick and his family are trying to put things back together. His sister, Suzanne, opened a fundraising portal through the website GoFundMe.com. To date, the site has raised $2,855 for Plesnick. The goal is to raise $10,000 through the site. Anyone interested in donating can click on the hyperlink embedded in this story and fill out the relevant information.
