When the victims of the March 12 fire at the East Columbia Apartments needed their community most, Columbia and Marion County residents did what they do best — rise to the occasion.
The Columbia Police Department and Chief Michael Kelly took it upon themselves to collect donations to pay for hotel rooms for seven of the 10 residents displaced by the fire that claimed the life of 79-year-old resident Bobbie Jan Crumedy.
An anonymous donor paid for the residents to stay at a local hotel March 12, but many of the residents had nowhere to go the next morning. Kelly and the CPD collected enough donations to cover hotel rooms for the displaced residents, along with food, for several days. The police chief said Tuesday morning that three of the seven displaced residents were able to be relocated, leaving only four in hotel rooms going forward.
Kelly also said city leaders are working with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to secure resources for all 10 of the affected residents.
“I don’t think they’re going to be in that building anytime soon. It’s going to be a months-long process for them to return home,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate because these people have very little already, and now they have even less.”
The fire damage was limited primarily to one apartment unit and the hallway, but most of the units in the building have severe water and smoke damage. With the extensive damage, it is likely the entire interior of the building will need to be gutted and replaced.
Several residents are concerned about how they are going to replace their belongings and what their future will look like.
“It’s messed up in there,” Deborah Jefferson, a resident of the building since 2012, said the morning following the fire. “All of it is just messed up. I’ve been renting a bedroom set, and I can’t afford to pay for that now. Somebody is going to have to do something. I’m going to need someone to help me get some more furniture and somewhere to live. I don’t have nothing now.”
Kelly said it’s important to get the residents assistance because they are not in the position to easily bounce back from such a major blow to their livelihood.
“The vast majority of these people are handicapped in some way. They’re elderly or have to use wheelchairs,” he explained. “This is a special needs population.”
The American Red Cross gave each of the residents a prepaid card loaded with $350, but the organization does not pay for hotel rooms or long-term
housing. Hope Community Collective has donated clothing to the residents.
