ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly a month after a fire damaged the Men’s Shelter at the Coalition for the Homeless on West Central Boulevard, arson investigators have finished their work.
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According to the City of Orlando, investigators are listing the cause of the February 8th fire as “undetermined.”
The fire displaced 237 men who were staying at the shelter and damaged the kitchen used to service the entire coalition campus. The coalition has stated most of the damage came from the fire suppression system, but they are still assessing the total damage.
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Since the fire, those displaced have been staying at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Parramore.
“It was an easy decision for us. We are all for and about the community,” said Rick Harris, a director with the Shiloh Baptist Church.
For the last month, the Shiloh Baptist Church has opened its doors providing a roof and beds for 147 men.
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However, pre-planned events at the church mean it will need that space back by the end of this week.
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On Thursday, 147 of the men displaced will move into a gym at the Salvation Army in Orlando where they are likely to shelter for the next 2 weeks.
“Moving around from place to place is difficult. Causes a lot of stress, and there’s a lot of them that are disabled. So were going to try to give them a much stability and dignity as possible,” said Ken Chapman, the area commander for the Salvation Army of Orange and Osceola County.
The city of Orlando says it will continue to provide mobile shower and laundry trailers at the temporary location, as Chapman and his team prepares to welcome the men displaced.
He says they will be given three meals a day at the Salvation Army. They will be supported and supervised 24/7.
Chapman said the Salvation Army has a great partnership with the Coalition of the Homeless which is why they opted to step-up to fill the emergency need.
“Initially when the fire first happened, they thought it was going to be 5 or 6 days. Well its ended up being 5 or 6 weeks. So, we feel pretty confident within the next two weeks its going to be finished and we’ll be back to normal” said Chapman, “We knew there weren’t any other options, so we stepped up and said absolutely. We’ll do what we have to do.”
In the meantime, a spokesperson for the city of Orlando stated that “While the case is closed, Orlando Fire investigators will continue to follow up on leads and encourage the public to come forward with any information by contacting CRIMELINE at 800.423.TIPS.”
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