By Rod Rose
Assistant Managing Editor
Lebanon — Some residents of apartments destroyed in a fire Sunday at Kise Estates, in the 1900 block of Lafayette Avenue, have been told they must move out by tomorrow, and they have encountered an unusual problem — a shortage of rental trucks and trailers.
“There are 19 families we are helping,” said Kristi Marcinko, a local representative of the Greater Indianapolis Red Cross.
“They all have until Friday to get everything out” of their apartments, she said.
Marcinko said some families have found other homes, but have no way to move their belongings.
Persons willing to loan pickups, trailers or trucks to assist the tenants should contact the Red Cross at (765) 482-3100, she said. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Marcinko said she would be checking voice messages frequently after hours.
“A lot of people didn’t have insurance,” Marcinko said. “A lot of these people lost everything they own.”
Brittany Day is one of those who need help.
She lives at 1933 Lafayette Avenue. The fire was at 1929 Lafayette Avenue. Each address is a 12-apartment sub-unit; they are in one building. Because the sprinklers at 1929 have been disconnected, no one can stay in 1933; it’s illegal to live in an apartment without a working sprinkler system.
“I found a place to go,” Day said. “I have a new apartment. I don’t have the money to get a U-Haul to move my stuff.”
She doesn’t know anyone who has a vehicle with a hitch, or who has a trailer.
Day isn’t alone. “I know the people who lived below me are having the same problem,” Day said. “There are a couple of others.”
Wednesday, the Greater Indianapolis Red Cross continued to help apartment tenants displaced by the blaze. Sunday, the Red Cross helped 14 families find lodging. In all, 23 families have been affected by the fire.
Disaster caseworkers met with families at Central Christian Church in Lebanon, Ann Gregson, a Red Cross spokeswoman, said in a press release. Through Wednesday, the Red Cross had assisted 44 persons, Gregson said. Caseworkers were to help tenants with housing, food, shelter and other needs, Gregson said.
Persons who want to donate items to help the families may also contact the Kise Estates office, (765) 483-1433.
Firefighters continue to investigate the source of the fire that made 12 apartments uninhabitable.
“We’re working with the insurance company,” Lebanon Fire Deputy Chief Jason Lee said Thursday. “It’s going to take a little bit longer.”
Damages will probably top $1 million, LFD Chief Ted Caldwell said earlier.
Lee asked anyone who has photos or video of the fire to please share them with the LFD. Contact him at LFD Station One, (765) 482-8831.
“We don’t have a lot of pictures of the back of the building,” Lee said. The fire began on a second-floor balcony on the north side of apartments at 1929 Lafayette Avenue. Because the north side was inaccessible, fire engines were set up in the building’s south-side parking lot.
