Thirty-six families displaced, 18 apartments destroyed and 18 damaged…
“I think people are still in shock from going from everything to nothing overnight. We had our mental health professionals here last evening helping everybody out. Everyone left, I think, in a sound frame of mind, but it is going to be a difficult thing to overcome,” said Derek Alden of the Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The Cobblestone at Essen community is still trying to come to terms with the loss, and Alden said for one victim, this is the second time disaster has hit home in recent months.
“Out of all the people we met with, there was only one person who was previously a flood victim,” said Alden.
With a fire this massive, Eldon Ledoux, the public information officer for the St. George Fire Department, said two people were injured, and everyone else got out safely.
“I reported yesterday that one of our firefighters, one of the St. George Firefighters was transported because of heat stress-related issues, and it turns out he was only evaluated on scene and did not require hospital treatment. So the only injuries that required transport to a hospital were those two residents who suffered minor burns,” explained Ledoux.
Now, the investigation continues into how it happened, and what or who caused it.
“That investigation is ongoing. I don’t have a timeline of when it will conclude because the investigation will go where the fire takes the investigators, and that could be two days, two weeks, two months. Honestly, we may never know what the exact cause and origin was,” concluded Ledoux.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department, State Fire Marshal, and the ATF are just some of the agencies assisting in the investigation. Right now, the displaced residents are being housed at a local Red Cross shelter.