Nine families still need housing after Carbon Cliff fire

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By Dustin Lemmon | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 6:00 PM CST | () comments

CARBON CLIFF, Ill. — Nine families who lost their homes in last week’s fire at Mansur Wood Living Center in Carbon Cliff are still in a hotel and looking for permanent places to stay.

The village is paying for the hotel stays, Village Clerk Karen Hopkins said, noting it’s the first time Carbon Cliff has done that.

“We’ve never had a major fire like this,” she said.

The American Red Cross of the Quad-Cities Area provided hotel rooms for the first few nights, but the village will pick up the remaining expense from its hotel fund, which can be used to cover a variety of things, Hopkins said.

“That’s not enough time for people to find housing,” she said of the Red Cross coverage.

The fire started Thursday afternoon and required the help of about 200 firefighters to extinguish. Carbon Cliff Fire Chief Larry Scott said a lamp in one of the apartments was knocked over, the light bulb broke and ignited some material on the floor. No one was injured.

Kelly Scalf, property manager at Mansur Wood, said eight units will be open by the end of the week. Electricity and water was restored Tuesday. One building, which suffered heavy damage, will be torn down and rebuilt, hopefully in six months.

“We will rebuild,” she said. “Ninety-five percent of our tenants are planning to come back to us. We’ve got a lot of them in apartments.”

Four families were moved into vacant apartments waiting to be rented, Scalf said. The Mansur Wood staff has been trying to help find housing for those still in the hotel, she added.

Scalf had no estimate on how expensive the damage will end up being.

“It’s a very long process,” she said of rebuilding. “It’s going to be a lot, obviously.”

Leslie Anthony with the Red Cross chapter said several donations were made over the weekend online and several more arrived in the mail Tuesday. She said 20 families originally were looking for housing.

“The community has been absolutely wonderful,” she said. “We still don’t know how much this disaster is going to cost us.”

Anthony said the Red Cross spends about $1,200 for the average family of four after a fire. She said within the first 24 hours after Thursday’s fire, the agency had spent $10,000.

Hopkins said families still need more help. The village issued a news release Tuesday asking the public to provide numerous items, which are being collected at Silvis Eagles Club, 911 Mansur Ave., Carbon Cliff, Ill. The club can be reached at (309) 796-9172.

Monetary donations for the fire victims can be made to the Mansur Wood Fire Relief Fund at any The National Bank location or at Carbon Cliff Village Hall, 106 1st Ave.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.

HELP OUT

Things the fire victims need:

- bath towels and wash rags

- kitchen towels and hot pads

- plates, silverware, glassware, pots, pans, baking dishes, knives and cooking utensils

- small appliances, can openers, coffee pots, toasters, blenders, mixers, microwaves and fans

- sheets, blankets, pillows and pillow cases

- toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, laundry soap, dish soap, cleaning supplies

- beds, dressers, night stands, couches, chairs, dining tables and chairs

- washers and dryers

- clothes hangers

- non-perishable food items

- movies, DVDs, children’s games, cards, video games

Source: Village of Carbon Cliff