Authorities believe fire was electrical

By Jennifer A. Bowen, as published in the Belleville News-Democrat .

About a dozen people were left homeless Thursday evening when a fire swept through an apartment building in the 600 block of North 10th Street in East St. Louis.

There were no injuries in the fire, according to the fire department.

The three-story, red-brick building was gutted by the fire, which East St. Louis firefighters believe may have started around 9 p.m. when a tenant used water on an electrical outlet in an attempt to put out an electrical fire.

The East St. Louis Fire Department called in firefighting units from St. Louis to help them extinguish the fire. Flare-ups kept firefighters at the scene until after noon Friday.

Ten families were homeless Thursday night but the Red Cross Disaster Action Team from Fairview Heights stepped in to make sure each family had somewhere to sleep and something to eat before the sun came up.

"In last night's situation, we were able to place those families in hotels," said Stephen Hall, a spokesman for the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. "Our primary focus is on the families to make sure they have a place to go, and if they don't, we find them a place. It helps the families, like those affected (Thursday) night, to get that recovery process started right away."

Red Cross volunteer Disaster Action Teams respond to about 1,000 single-family fires every year in the St. Louis area. The non-profit organization also provides emergency supplies such as food, clothing and mental-health counseling as needed following a devastating fire.

Hall added that the Red Cross is usually able to provide temporary housing in hotels for about three nights to families displaced by fire or other disasters.

"We usually find that families often have family and friends that can help them out," Hall said. "They have other resources and we are often able to help provide some monetary assistance to get food and clothing as needed."

The Red Cross can also help families with rental assistance for the first month to get them into new housing. A caseworker will sit down with each family, if desired, and help them find the agencies and help they need to get into new homes.

"This is something we will stay involved in to make sure they get the resources and the referrals they need to recover from this fire," Hall said. "The best way to help these families is to donate to our Disaster Relief Fund. While people can't donate to a specific family affected by this, we have the Disaster Relief Fund so we are able to provide disaster relief assistance to these families and other local families like them when they need it. We depend on donations to provide these families assistance, free of charge."

To make a donation to the local Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, visit www.redcrossstl.orgor call 314.516.2800.