Seniors Displaced By Fire Get New Clothes
By Jeff Todd
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4)- Residents displaced from the Southview Place Apartments in Littleton will be allowed to return in the middle of next week.
About 70 people were told they couldn't return home after a fire Wednesday afternoon. Littleton's emergency response to the fire included 12 fire trucks, 10 ambulances and 75 firefighters to the senior living complex.
"They're going to let us back in next Wednesday. So that's really going to be good," said Richard Cowan who is staying at a Red Cross shelter set up at the Littleton United Methodist Church.
Twenty-three residents remained at the shelter for a second night where they received some necessities that were left behind when they evacuated.
"We took each of their sizes and so we covered shirts, pants and jackets and socks and underwear for each person. We had some special requests, some personal items, shoes for one person who evacuated barefooted," said Jessi Lambert with the charity Love INC which is between the apartment and the shelter. "We're bringing over cosmetics and different things to try and defuse the anxiety."
"They just gave me some clothes and stuff so they've been pretty nice," Cowan said. "It was really nice, really nice. I'm glad we got everything done it was really cool."
Lambert says it was just the neighborly thing to do, "I think that it maintains dignity the way that I have approached this is by looking at them as family. What would I want for my own grandmother? When I look at the residents through her eyes and the love I have for my grandmother you're going to want the best for them."
What caused the fire is under investigation.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
