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DeKalb Township summarizes response after apartment fire displaces 32 units
Summary
Supervisor House told trustees the township coordinated hotel rooms, nonprofit aid and translation services after a Dec. 22 apartment fire affected 32 units; some residents remain displaced and housing remains the primary need.
At its Jan. 27 meeting, DeKalb Township Supervisor House recapped the township’s response to an apartment fire on Dec. 22 that affected 32 units and displaced multiple households.
House said the mayor asked residents to go to Westminster Presbyterian Church that night and that township staff helped organize immediate shelter and follow-up services. “I did get a call from the mayor who explained that residents were being told to go to Westminster Presbyterian Church. So I did go there and assist with kind of, coming up with a plan,” House said.
The township and the city secured rooms at the Red Roof Inn for residents that night. Township staff and volunteers called absentee tenants using a landlord-supplied list and helped transport some residents to the hotel. By the following day, the Red Roof Inn hosted several community organizations in a banquet room to provide services, House said.
Nonprofit and government partners on site included the Red Cross, Family Service Agency, the regional office of education, the Ben Gordon Center, several churches and others who provided meals, clothing and gifts. House thanked the Westminster Presbyterian Church and Red Roof Inn for opening their facilities and acting quickly. He said the township purchased gift cards to help residents buy essentials; Walmart limited gift-card purchases to $1,000 per day, and Meijer stepped in to supply the additional cards the township needed.
House noted many residents carried renters insurance and that city staff member Jennifer Yoakam assisted with filing claims. “All of these residents were required to have renters insurance, so that was a blessing that they had that,” House said.
Township staff also provided bilingual assistance, which House credited to Kim, a township staff member who helped translate for residents. House said some residents had been able to retrieve a few belongings on the night of the fire with fire-department escort, and some families — particularly where multiple families lived under a single lease — continue to face challenges finding rehousing.
House said some residents have been rehoused, but “many of them are very challenged by finding another place to live, that's within their needs.” He said Love Inc. and other local groups were assisting with furniture and vouchers, and Family Service Agency provided vouchers to its country store.
The supervisor closed by thanking the community for a rapid, collaborative response and said housing remains the primary continuing need.
