A Staten Island man who graciously opened his doors to someone displaced by Hurricane Sandy was left homeless Monday after a fire burned his house to the ground — allowing the woman he helped to repay the favor.
Joel Tricarico, 74, stood helplessly by as firefighters tried to battle the blaze at his Concord townhouse on Gateway Drive, which started around 1:30 p.m., and was only made worse by whipping winds, fire officials said.
As parts of Tricarico’s attached home began to collapse inside, firefighters were at times forced to retreat, allowing the fire to continue raging.
The fire spread to two other homes, displacing a total of five people, according to a fire chief at the scene, but Tricarico’s home was burnt to ashes.
But the elderly man told The Post that he has been offered a place to stay by the woman who lived with him for almost seven months after her home was destroyed in last year’s storm.
“She had her home devastated by the surge and now my home is devastated by fire,” Tricarico said, referring to the woman who declined to give her name. “She stayed with me from the second day after the storm until June. Now I’ll be staying with her, at least temporarily.”
“I suppose helping out a friend will end up keeping a roof over my head,” he continued. “I never thought about it that way, but that’s what’s happened. Unbelievable but true.”