ORLANDO, Fla. – A fire at a homeless shelter in Orlando has left 237 men displaced as the building is currently not usable.
The fire happened at the Coalition for the Homeless men’s shelter on Terry Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Orlando fire crews had to break windows to get hoses to reach the flames, leading to flooding and water damage. The building is currently not usable. No one was hurt.
The cause of the fire is not known, but the Homeless Services Network said arson was not the cause. On Thursday officials said the shelter likely will not be usable for the next 10 days.
Some 237 men were displaced by the fire. Michael Boudreau is one of them.
“From what I heard, somebody caught a mattress on fire. There’s water damage, a lot of water damage. They shut the electric off,” Boudreau said. “I ended up staying over in Winter Park. They took us on buses over there and there’s a couple of different places people stayed.”
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For Wednesday night, they were to stay at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, the Salvation Army Orlando and All Saints Church.
“My belongings are still in there. I don’t know if they’re soaking wet. I had two computers in my locker, I hope to God they’re dry,” Boudreau said. “They busted a couple of windows out to let the smoke out last night. We saw that from outside and they aired the place out and dredged all the water out that I guess was on the floor or whatever, drained it out (...) The church has been great. The organizations and stuff, they’ve helped us out a lot.”
The building also housed the kitchen used to cook the meals for the nearby shelter for women and families, affecting another 200-plus residents.
The Homeless Services Network says the organization needs financial donations, pillows, blankets, jackets, socks and other warm clothing for the men. They also need nonperishable food and bag lunches of sandwiches, chips, fruit and drinks to feed both the men and the women and families at the other shelter.
Debra Graham with the foundation Blankets of Love dropped off donations Thursday morning, what she said was food, water, toothbrushes and toiletries.
“I was devastated, because we were just down here a few weeks ago and so I know the impact on the community when something like this happens,” Graham said, encouraging others to purge their closets and panties for supplies to donate. “To displace 200 or more people who really rely on these services, it was just heartbreaking. We were just really touched by it. It just really saddened us.”
Anyone wishing to donate money can do so at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida website.
Anyone bringing supplies or food can bring it to the gate of the coalition’s facility at 18 N. Terry Ave. in Orlando between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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