Man survives fire, is arrested

A two-alarm fire swept through a Richmond Hill home described as a “Collyer’s Mansion” recently, leaving two firefighters with injuries and the 75-year-old homeowner under arrest for weapons possession.
Robert Fuchs of 87-34 118th Street was rescued through a first floor window of the room in which he was sleeping, after neighbors reported the fire about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, February 26.
“He had no idea the house was burning until firefighters woke him,” said Fire Marshall John Paolella. “He’s pretty lucky.”
Ten of as many as 20 cats which may have shared the house were not as lucky. They were found dead in the house - some in “cages” according to Fire Marshals.
“The place is a ‘Collyer’s mansion’” said Fire Marshall John Malley. “It was pretty bad, but I’ve seen worse,” he said.
Wealthy, reclusive brothers Homer and Langley Collyer were found dead in their family’s Harlem brownstone in 1947, after an 18-day search by police.
The house was filled with over 100 tons of personal belongings and refuse, including a Model T Ford. “Collyer’s Mansion Condition” has become official parlance among firefighters to describe structures which are filled to the point of being difficult to search.
Fuchs, who is “still employed” by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to authorities, collected a few too many things for his own good.
“Six handguns, an AK-47 and a sniper rifle” and numerous knives and swords were recovered from the house, according to authorities. “There were knives, swords and bayonets everywhere,” a fire department source said.
While Fuchs, a veteran, had permits for two of the pistols, the other firearms were not registered, and he was arrested for misdemeanor weapons possession.
The police source said that because they were found in his home, Fuchs is currently charged with a misdemeanor. “The permitted guns were also seized and sent to the pistol license section (of the New York City Police Department) in Manhattan,” he said.
“They were high-quality, antique, collectible type weapons - some of it World War II stuff he got from relatives,” according to a fire official at the scene.
The fire, which started in a center room of the frame house, raced up the stairway and rapidly spread through the second floor of the five-bedroom structure.
Firefighter Robert Grover was trapped upstairs and suffered severe burns to his hands and face before being rescued through a back window by firefighter Anthony Romano of Ladder Company 143. Both men tumbled off a landing and into the yard.
Grover, who also suffered a concussion in the fall, is in stable condition in the Weill-Cornell burn unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Romano was treated for bruises and released. “At first we thought he broke his leg,” Paolella said, “but he’s going to be okay.”
The cause of the blaze has been determined as accidental, and “the electrical work seemed okay,” according to an official at the scene.
Bob Nerine has been living next door to Fuchs since 1989. “I barely knew him,” he said, as he surveyed the wreckage and the damage to his own home. “Thankfully my family is okay and it’s just the melted siding and the smell of smoke we have to deal with,” Nerine said, adding, “We’ll see how long it takes for the insurance.”
Another local resident, who would only identify herself as a “back fence neighbor” stared into the gaping windows. “I never realized it was like that,” she said, shaking her head, “What a lousy looking place.”
Fuchs still has friends in the neighborhood according to Simcha Waisman, president of the Richmond Hill Block Association. “Bob - I never knew his last name - would come to some of our meetings. We’re a neighborhood and we want to protect his interest,” Waisman said.
He said that “neighbors across the street” had volunteered to shelter Fuchs while other arrangements were being made. “The vultures were already in front of the house,” Waisman said, referring to insurance adjusters and board-up specialists who invariably flock to fire scenes.
“With what’s going on with Bob, [who was still in custody at the 102nd Precinct at the time] at least he can’t be rushed into signing anything,” Waisman said.