275 seniors displaced by fire at affordable housing building: ‘Its hell’

Seniors displaced after apartment building fire

FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis continues reporting on nearly half of the 275 seniors living in affordable housing apartments with family or friends after being displaced by a building fire.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Seniors forced to evacuate from the Lutheran Apartments because of a building fire on Tuesday, Dec. 17, said the transition has been tough.

Half of the nearly 275 seniors living in affordable housing apartments are with family or friends. Apartment management placed the other half in hotels.

A resident of Lutheran Apartments evacuates the building after building fire.

Some residents said the last 48 hours after leaving their homes have been hard.

READ: 250 seniors evacuated from apartments after fire at 16-story downtown St. Pete building

"It's really a hopeless situation out there, and they just don't care. It's really sad," said George Dolan. "You have no place to go. And I was forced to get out of my apartment. I felt I was intimidated and harassed. It was just a terrible atmosphere."

A late-night fire on Monday, Dec. 16, damaged the apartment's electric room, leaving the building without power, air conditioning, or water.

On Tuesday, FOX 13 News was there as seniors were evacuated. Some were brought down on stretchers; others trekked down 16 stories with their belongings.

"They were really frightened about what was going to happen to them. I mean, they were really frightened," said Ralph Lebkuecher.

They had to get out so quickly that some were missing essentials.

"They only gave you about an hour to get out, and I wasn't able to get any underwear," said Dolan.

Residents of Lutheran Apartments wait to board a bus to evacuate the building after the building fire.

"They are short of medicine. They didn't take their medicine with them," said Lebkuecher.

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Apartment manager Rick Langford said over the phone it could be 10 to 14 days before seniors can return.

The building was renovated a few years ago, but the 55-year-old electrical system was not.

Langford told me he couldn’t speak to that- since he did not work there then.

Langford said they understand how difficult this has been on residents. In addition to paying for the hotel stays, they have provided meal per diems for them and are trying to get them home as soon as possible.

Langford says if the community wants to do anything for the displaced seniors, they could send Christmas cards to the Hilton.

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