Tenants at Courtyard Apartments at Riverview in Queen Village displaced for second time this summer
Tenants displaced again after another fire breaks out at apartment building
Tenants at Courtyard Apartments at Riverview in Queen Village are displaced for a second time this summer following another fire.
PHILADELPHIA - On one of the hottest days of summer, seniors waited outside Courtyard Apartments at Riverview in Queen Village to reclaim essential items following a fire that displaced tenants on Tuesday night.
What they're saying:
"I’m upset because I have to find some place to go and it’s hot so I had to get the bus to come down here to get my medication. I’m aggravated by that," said Rose High, tenant.
The fire on July 29 comes a month after a fire in the building on June 23, which displaced tenants for about 11 days.
"We shouldn’t have to live like that," said Alvida Brooks, tenant. "I have no clothes. Look what I have on. This is the same thing I had on when the fire started."
Fire strikes senior living facility in Queen Village for second time this summer
Residents are frustrated after another fire broke out at a senior apartment complex in Queen Village Tuesday.
Brooks is staying at a hotel in Old City and is letting a couple neighbors stay with her as they have nowhere to go.
"If it wasn’t for her we’d be lost. For real. Something has got to happen because this is going to keep happening," said Mike, a live-in caretaker and tenant.
"Something wasn’t fixed right. The whole ceiling caved in on the first floor," said Vermal Lakins, tenant. "When I got down to the second floor and the exit all the smoke hit me in my face."
What we know:
Most of the tenants in the 25-story Courtyard Apartments at Riverview are seniors.
The Philadelphia Fire Department said 150 firefighters were on the scene and helped evacuate nearly 200 people to safety.
Many residents said they saw firefighters climb up flights of stairs to carry individuals out of the building.
"I was stuck on the 19th floor for about four hours or longer before anybody could come and get me. It’s very depressing," said Mahalia Singleton, a tenant who is partially blind and carried out by firefighters. "The fire people were very, very, very they were wonderful walking up all those steps to the 25th floor then have to carry every person individually back down. Oh my god that was a wonderful job they did."
The Philadelphia Fire Marshal said the cause of both fires on June 23 and July 29 is electrical.
Dig deeper:
Building owner The Michaels Organization said inspections and repairs will take five to seven days and spokesperson Laura Zaner provided this statement:
"Thank you again for reaching out to Michaels about the electrical fire at Courtyard at Riverview, which has displaced our residents.
We have been told that the cause of the fire appears to be water from a leak entering the busway of one of the electrical panels.
This incident occurred in a different location than the previous incident in June. This fire started on a non-residential floor, and no residential units were damaged.
All of our residents were safely evacuated. Approximately 100 of the residents who are currently displaced were able to go to friends or family. The remaining residents (approximately 60) have been sheltering in the Kensington Cafe school.
We are currently working with the city and Councilman Squilla to secure hotel rooms for those currently in the shelter, as they are our first priority at the moment and we are grateful that so many of our residents have friends and family who are able to help at this time.
Vouchers are not currently being issued, and were not issued before. SNAP recipients may appeal to their local department of human services offices for additional assistance. Our social services team can also connect them to local food banks and community organizations for help.
L & I personnel have been onsite most of today and we are working closely with them. All previous citations, which had nothing to do with this electrical fire, are either resolved or in process. L&I has indicated they are happy with the process. We have applied for the new permit apparently now required by the city for high rises.
Again, we are very grateful to the city, the Councilman, and our teammates for their assistance to us and our residents and we look forward to welcoming all of our residents back to their homes as soon as it’s safe to do so.
- Laura Zaner, VP, Corporate Marketing & corporate spokesperson/The Michaels Organization"
Philadelphia Councilmember Mark Squilla has been supporting tenants since the first fire in June and is now trying to connect The Michaels Organization with the hotel association for the residents who are in a temporary shelter.
Councilmember Squilla said the building faces L&I violations following the fires and must get back into compliance before tenants are allowed back home.
"It’s really a sad situation that we have in front of us and we’re going to do everything we can from the city side to make sure this doesn’t happen again," said Mark Squilla, Philadelphia City Council District 1. "We want to make sure the work is done right, that it’s completed, and all violations are complied with, but also understanding we want to get our residents back into their homes as soon as possible."
The Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania said 58 residents stayed in their temporary shelter at Kensington Creative & Performing Arts High School.