The death toll has climbed to two from a fire that tore through a five-story Holyoke apartment building on New Year’s Day, after firefighters late Sunday recovered a body as they combed through the rubble, a fire official said.
Captain Anthony Cerruti of the Holyoke Fire Department confirmed the body had been found but said officials were not yet naming this victim or publicly identifying a previous victim, a woman who jumped from an upper story to escape the flames.
At a news conference Monday morning, Mayor Alex Morse lauded the public officials who stepped up to help during and after the blaze.
“This is a sad time in the city of Holyoke, but I do see hope in our residents coming together to make sure we do what we do better, and that is to look to the future and care for the people that need our help now,’’ the mayor said.
The fire broke out shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday in a circa-1905 red-brick building in Holyoke’s Flats neighborhood, an old mill district encircled by canals.
About 50 people were displaced from 25 apartments.
The city and state are investigating, with the focus currently on identifying all occupants, said Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fire Services.
At the news conference, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said there was no indication of foul play.
The mayor said the community has been generous, and that the city no longer needs donations of clothing, but could use people with pickup trucks to help carry donated clothing and furniture to the families’ new housing. About 15 families are in apartments already, and others are temporarily at hotels.
An online relief fund set up by Holyoke officials had raised more than $15,000 as Monday morning, Morse said. There is a disaster relief event scheduled for Tuesday.
Fire Chief John Pond and Morse acknowledged that one of the city’s fire engines was not in use at the time of the blaze, but said that did not harm the response. Officials were on scene within a minute of the call about the fire, they said.
Eric Moskowitz can be reached at eric.moskowitz@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeMoskowitz. Andy Rosen can be reached at andy.rosen@globe.com.
