WESTHEIMER REGENCY APARTMENTS FIRE

From Volunteer Tom Davis

The fire today was a real catastrophe - the entire middle building of the complex was lost. The left half of the building (viewed from the street) was a total loss; we were told the people wouldn't even be able to get into their apartments to retrieve their belongings. The right half wasn't badly damaged, but the decision was made that it was also uninhabitable; those people will at least be able to go in and retrieve their things, though.

The Fire Department estimated that about 300 people were displaced. Of those, about 100 registered at the reunion center we set up in the cafeteria of Reagan High School, a couple of blocks east of the apartment complex.  Two city buses took people from the apartments to Reagan, and then to the shelter that was set up at Gus Garcia Recreation Center on East Rundberg.

Nearly all the people displaced were Hispanic, and only about half of them spoke English. We had a few Spanish interpreters, but not near what we needed."

City Manager Marc Ott is pictured below with shelter volunteers.

To become a bilingual American Red Cross of Central Texas volunteer, contact Volunteer Services at (512) 929-1225 or volunteerservices@centex.redcross.org.