How to Support Victims of the Knights Inn Fire
Six people died in a fast-moving fire Monday morning at the Knights Inn in Endwell, a location known to be used as a homeless shelter. Dozens more are now displaced.
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ENDWELL – Early Monday morning, flames ripped through the front building of the Knights Inn in Endwell, quickly engulfing the top floors of the building as over a dozen fire and ambulance organizations responded.
Six people died in the fire, and numerous residents were displaced. NewsChannel 34 reports that the hotel is one of several local motels and hotels used for sheltering the county’s homeless population.
While not yet confirmed by police as of Wednesday, the Press & Sun reports that according to attendees of a rally Tuesday afternoon, Michelle Woolfolk, Dominique Cruz, Joshuea Molyneaux, and Cruz and Molyneaux’s three children were the victims who lost their lives, and that a total of 73 people were estimated to be displaced.
A temporary shelter for those displaced has been set up at the Vestal United Methodist Church, and the American Red Cross is providing further assistance and supplies to the victims.
A man, Tyler J. Russell of Endwell, was arrested for the fire, charged with six counts of manslaughter and arson, according to New York State Police.
How to Donate to Those Affected
The United Way of Broome County has created an emergency relief fund for those affected by the fire, many of whom have lost “not only their housing, but also many of their personal belongings, clothing, medications, and essential items.”
Organizers say 100% of the donation will go directly to the campaign to support the victims. So far, the campaign has raised over $50,000 from nearly 700 supporters.
You can donate to the United Way Knights Inn Emergency Relief Fund here.
GoFundMe pages have also been set up by the families of Dominique Cruz and Michelle Woolfolk to cover funeral costs.
Struggle for Answers in Broome County’s Homelessness Crisis
This comes just over a month after the brutal beating and death of homeless man Peter Bennedum by five teens in late April, prompting a vigil and public outcry on the state of care for homeless residents of the county.
Dozens of people gathered Tuesday afternoon for a rally outside the Broome County Office Building on Hawley Street in Downtown Binghamton.
With chants like "houses not hotels" and "shame on DSS," protesters wrote messages of mourning and frustration on the walls and urged local and state governments to do more for the homelessness crisis in the county.
The attendees called on Broome County to improve outcomes in its homelessness efforts, and decried poor sheltering for homeless people.
“It’s not right, Broome County should do better for them than they are now,” said Christine, a woman attending the rally.
“They go to DSS, and they put them in these predicaments, these bad places, it’s just sad. I’ve known a lot of homeless people, I’ve known a lot of addicts, it’s bad.”
Two at the rally came in memory of victim Michelle Wolfolk, wearing tee shirts printed to honor her.
Many reviews of the Knights Inn over the years note issues with cleanliness, bed bugs, and other poor conditions.
Many also voiced frustration with a lack of affordable housing and the expansion of student rentals taking houses off the market for local residents, blaming those factors for rent increases.
A New Support Initiative from Broome County Announced
Before the fire in late May, Broome County officials announced a new Homelessness Solutions Initiative, seeking to create “lasting solutions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Broome County.”
In the announcement, officials say they seek to shift away from reliance on motel and hotel placements, which cost the county millions of dollars each year. They say the strategy is both financially unsustainable and does not provide the level of support necessary to help individuals and families achieve long-term stability.
“This is about much more than building a homeless shelter,” said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar.
“This initiative is designed to implement short, medium, and long-range solutions that help people regain stability and move toward permanent housing and independence. Hotels and motels were never intended to solve homelessness. They are expensive, lack support systems, and too often leave people trapped in crisis instead of helping them move forward.”
A Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks qualified nonprofit organizations, housing providers, healthcare organizations, developers, and service providers capable of helping Broome County establish a modern homelessness response system focused on outcomes, accountability, compassion, and long-term success.
This encompasses emergency shelter capacity, transitional housing opportunities, mental health and addiction treatment services, workforce and employment assistance, veteran support services, intensive case management and partnerships focused on permanent housing placement.
Nonprofit outlet New York Focus reports that from early 2017 to late 2024, about $420 million was spent in New York outside of New York City on hotels to house homeless people, and that the state’s social services agencies placed just under half of the 34,000 individuals and families receiving emergency shelter outside of the city in fiscal year 2024 in hotels. This was an increase of over ⅓ since 2018. In Broome County, hotel cases more than quintupled.
The outlet also reported that these homeless families placed in hotels were also not guaranteed key social services present at other shelters like meals, childcare and connection to health services, although proposed rules are attempting to change this at the state level.
A Reminder
The day after the fire, the smell of ash persists from the sidewalk of the 2603 Main St. hotel site, which sits just a short walk away from Tony’s Italian Grill and the Riverhurst Cemetery.
The entire top floor and roof were burned and collapsed, and a small shrine to the victims wth flowers and stuffed animals was set at the front. Some people were carrying bags of personal belongings near the motel offices as residents relocate.
A homeless man, who identified himself as Walt, walked towards the site on Tuesday afternoon.
Walt said he has been outside for three years, and has himself gotten attacked and hospitalized in a similar manner to Bennedum in recent months.
"It's a reminder," he said. "When you're homeless, it is not safe out here."
But his thoughts were on the lives lost, not his own struggles or the building itself.
"Three beautiful children, it's senseless," he said.
"Because we're homeless, it doesn't mean we're different than you, we just come across hard times."
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