Community Rallies to Help Village Practitoner After Fire Disaster

Community support for a local medical practioner who lost his home and belongings in a blaze earlier this month has raised nearly $5,000 for housing and living needs.

Chiropracter Dr. John Balsamo, who operates Life is Beautiful Family Chiropractic, and his black lab, Salvatore, were woken up in the middle of the night with someone pounding on the door yelling “fire, fire, get out.”

Balsamo grab a few things, wrapped Sal up in a blanket and sprinted through the advancing fire at the end of a staircase in his building to get to safety. For the next hour he watched the blaze, which began in a neighboring tenant’s apartment, destroy his home and all he owned.

According to supporters, Balsamo lost everything and all that was left were the pajamas and the sweat shirt he was wearing that night. Balsamo's practice has been a chamber member for over a decade.
 
A supporter wrote a letter to the chamber asking for donations to a fund set up to help Balsamo.

”I know that Babylon has always been a community that bands together when tragedy hits,” states the letter. A We Pay account has been set up for donations to help Balsamo find a new home.

As of this week $4,775 has been donated to the John B Fire Loss Fund.

Donors can visit this website to help.