Tenants Struggle To Find Housing After Superior Fire

SUPERIOR, Wis. — On Thanksgiving morning, a fire broke out at a building housing the Viking Lounge and eight apartments.

By the time the Superior Fire Department was able to fully extinguish the flames, 14 people were left homeless. A fire official said a lit cigarette was the source of the fire.

“Initially there were signs that there was a fire on the first floor, at the rear of the structure,” said Steve Miner, battalion chief for the Superior Fire Department. “They entered in and extinguished the fire. Other crews what were exterior at the time saw the fire burring through the wall.”

Jodee Baker and her boyfriend were not at home in the building when the fire began, but a friend called and told them about what happened.

“Flames and smoke everywhere,” said Baker as she described what she saw.   “We have no place to go. We lost our home.”

This is just the beginning step in coming to terms with the situation. This is where the Red Cross steps in and works with the people affected by the tragedy.

“Typically what the Red Cross provides is initial emotional support for people,” said Dan Williams, executive director of the Red Cross Northern Minnesota and Douglas County. “Picture someone standing next to someone with a Red Cross blanket. Sometimes, you know, just offering some emotional support as they go through this traumatic experience that they’re processing .  Really, the purpose of that is to get them through the first few days.”

The Red Cross volunteers also make sure affected people have a safe place to stay. Other Red Cross volunteers will continue to work with those affecting trying to cope with their loss.

“So a lot of that is processing that and that can take, you know weeks, months even years to do that. So a lot of it is helping people slowly process that so they’re not trying to do it all at once,” said Williams.

The owner of the building was able to find some of the tenants’ new places to live, but at a much higher rent. For others, like Baker, the process of moving on is not going smoothly.

“We’ve been looking for places, but there’s just been nothing available.  Just keep calling and calling. Yeah, it’s just tough. I need to find a place. It’s so stressful. I don’t even, I don’t even know what to do, it’s really hard,” Baker said.