Tuesday, June 18, 2013

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After Apartment Fire, Residents Recovering, With Help
By Lauren Maxwell
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ANCHORAGE - It's the day after a devastating fire at a midtown apartment building, and many of the people who lived there are trying to regroup. At the building itself there are plenty of reminders of what was lost, from blackened holes where windows used to be to ashes from the building that blacken the snow.

Ginny Ihde’s apartment was lost in the blaze on a day she’ll never forget. It was her 50th birthday.

“I had a great day planned with a really good friend,” said Ihde. “I had an excellent day planned for my 50th birthday and I lost everything, except my life.”

Ihde was one of many people who dropped by the Spenard Recreation Center on Friday to pick up supplies from tables filled with donated blankets and clothes. According to the Red Cross, a total of seven people slept at the make-shift shelter Thursday night, but many more came by for help.

“We want to make sure people know we are available for support,” said the Red Cross’s Laura Spano.
“Some people don’t necessarily need it, but those that do have been coming in and getting assistance as needed.”

Spano says the shelter is now closed at the recreation center, but residents who need assistance can still contact the Red Cross.

Fire officials have yet to announce a cause for the blaze, saying the fire is still under investigation. Residents may be able to go back inside their units briefly possibly as early as this weekend.

The plan is to escort people in individually for a brief period of time so that they can retrieve whatever valuables they can.