GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — Efforts to make sure kids and their parents can continue receiving child care after a fire on Grand Island are underway.
According to fire investigators, KinderKiddz daycare on Grand Island Boulevard suffered $2 million in damage and will be closed for the foreseeable future.
Unsafe signs are posted at every entrance to the business which card for around 100 kids daily. It's unclear when any of them will be able to return.
Owner Shellina Patel told 2 On Your Side she is devastated about what happened.
"Those kids I play with every day where are they right now where are they going to go?" said Patel.
Video taken inside the daycare by Patel's son AJ shows extensive damage, with soot and charred children's artwork clinging to the walls. Patel has filed a claim with her insurance.
"Everything burned everything that hasn’t been destroyed by the fire is destroyed by the water and the smoke," Patel said.
KinderKiddz is contacting other daycares who might be able to help take in kids left without daycare. They said impacted parents and staff should stay tuned for updates.
Patel said the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing but investigators believe a charging electronic device may have caused it. She confirmed that no one was in the building when the fire started Saturday.
Since Saturday, staff at Sidway Elementary in the Grand Island School District have been making plans and clearing space for 36 UPK students displaced by a fire at KinderKiddz.
"I immediately started thinking we need to start talking because this doesn’t look good," said Assistant Superintendent Michael Lauria.
Sidway Elementary Principal Mike Antonelli said staff and faculty came together Monday to enact their plan, temporarily relocating some speech, OT, and PT teachers and clearing two classrooms to welcome kids who had gone through a lot.
"We really just want them to have a place to be with their peers to be with their teacher so they can finish their school year," Lauria added.
"With Sidway already having preschools in we're already approved so we're just waiting for a few hoops from the state," said Principal Antonelli.
UPK teachers from KinderKiddz would relocate with their students to Sidway. In terms of a timeline, district leaders said they hope to transition as soon as possible.
"I think it’s huge for the kids I think first, parents struggle when their kids are not happy they're not going to get to finish their year they're looking for graduation so I think for the parents and the owner it's just getting to see those kids finish their year," Antonelli said.
KinderKiddz owner Shellina Pattel added that updates will be shared with 2 On Your Side as they become available.
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