Fresh start: Families not alone in recovering from fire
"We're working to rebuild the foundation of our family," said
Brown was living with her children, mother and sister in an apartment at
All 29 residents safely evacuated the two-story, 12-unit building, but they lost everything.
As firefighters worked to control the blaze, American Red Cross Serving Central Illinois began moving families to its nearby facility. The next day,
"I couldn't ask for more than that," said
Many of the funds came from a Sunday collection from the congregation and he said church staff will continue to work with the families and offer financial guidance.
"We won't walk away," said Hensleigh. "When someone in our community is hurting we want to be there for our neighbors and love them in the best way we possibly can."
Carruthers and Brown are now settled in
"It's much nicer where we are now. Everything is secure with cameras inside and outside the building," said Carruthers, who had lived at the Gettysburg building since October.
She said that apartment was missing smoke alarms, appliances were broken and there was no heat.
"I put up curtains on windows to keep heat in the room. I bought space heaters but the breakers would always flip when we turned them on. We had to burn the top of the stove to get warm," said the grandmother of three.
Carruthers reported the issues to city inspectors, but she said the landlord never corrected the violations.
City records indicate inspectors examined the Gettysburg property on
Attempts to contact the building's owner,
On Friday morning, Carruthers and other former tenants watched from a van as an excavation crew and fire inspectors continued their search for the cause of the fire.
"We assisted with an excavator to bring down parts of the unstable roof and walls as needed to complete the fire inspection," said
Officials on scene confirmed
Inspectors roamed inside the burned building, moving the wreckage with poles and taking photos. Crews were seen removing items wrapped in plastic.
Officials declined further comment and said the blaze remains under investigation.
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