- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Investigation into senior apartment complex fire continues; officials work to find shelter for residents
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The investigation into the cause of a weekend fire at a senior apartment complex that claimed a woman's life and injured several others is still under way, while officials work to find temporary housing for the dozens of residents the incident displaced.
The fire at Lakeview Housing senior apartment complex, located at 525 Bevins St., occurred on Sunday evening, as Lake County News has reported.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said Wednesday that police were not yet ready to release the name of the woman who died in the fire, and were working to determine if her family had been notified before doing so.
Rasmussen said the woman's body was found in an elevator. Based on the investigation so far, authorities believe the woman had initially made it out of the building safely then, for a reason that's still not known, she went back inside.
“That's still under investigation,” Rasmussen said.
Additionally, there were four residents injured in the fire. Rasmussen said one woman who suffered burns was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for treatment.
He said police had been in contact with the woman, who remains hospitalized but has been moved out of the burn unit.
Three other people were transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Rasmussen said one of those individuals has since been released from the hospital. He didn't have specific updates on their conditions.
Rasmussen said Lakeport Police Det. Dale Stoebe is working with investigators from local fire districts on the investigation into the fire's cause.
One of the considerations is whether there is negligence and, if so, if it needs to be prosecuted. “That's part of the investigation that we're doing right now,” he said.
“We want to make sure that we do a very thorough investigation, particularly in light of the fact that there was a fatality,” said Rasmussen.
He said the last major fire in the city that affected homes was some 20 years ago, when a wildland fire in the area of Sixth Street and Central Park Avenue burned several residences.
The 36-unit Lakeview Housing complex is owned by the Ukiah-based Rural Communities Housing Development Corp., or RCHDC, which according to its Web site manages more than 1,000 units of multi-family low-income housing for both elderly and families in Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt counties.
Rasmussen and City Manager Margaret Silveira said the city is working with RCHDC to find shelter for the 32 residents who are still out of their apartments.
Rasmussen said that, initially, the city was told it would be a week before residents return home. However, that estimate has been extended to as many as three weeks due to the need to clean out smoke damage and rebuild portions of the complex that were destroyed by the fire.
He said the unit where the fire began was destroyed, and one next to it had significant damage. “The majority of them just need to be cleaned out,” and utilities safely restored, Rasmussen said.
RCHDC Chief Executive Officer Brad McDonald told Lake County News that the organization is meeting on Thursday with its insurance adjuster and the contractors who will be rebuilding and cleaning the facility, and so later this week he should have a better idea of what repairs will be necessary, as well as a timeline.
City officials said a number of the complex's displaced residents have been sheltered since Sunday at a shelter run by the Red Cross at the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has been used as an emergency shelter for the Clayton fire as well as during last year's wildland fire-fraught summer.
Rasmussen said that, on the night of the fire, there were 18 people staying there.
Since then, the number has dropped a little as residents have found some other places to stay temporarily with friends and family, said Silveira. She estimated the shelter's most recent census was 13.
She said she has been working with RCHDC to try to find other temporary housing – particularly, motels or hotels – for the seniors since the Red Cross plans to end its operations on Friday.
Trying to find enough accommodations in town before Friday – and for an extended period of time – is challenging, said Silveira, especially in light of upcoming weekend events.
Silveira said there also is a concern about not wanting to have to move the seniors from one place to another while they're waiting to return home.
She said the church has offered to allow the residents to stay beyond Friday, which would necessitate volunteers operating the facility.
“They've been very gracious,” Silveira said of the church.
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