PITTSBURGH — The mayor’s office told Channel 11 the demolition has been approved to start either later this evening or early Saturday morning.
The more than 30 residents left without a home have been getting help from the community.
PHOTOS: Massive fire at Squirrel Hill apartment building
Now the city is trying to get extra help for them with a disaster declaration.
“The plan for this apartment building was like, we could be here three to five years, if we need to, to try and build up to buy a house together,” said Jonah Charis, who lived in Jefferson Apartments. “That was like the goal, and then this occurred.”
Jonah and Jasper were married on August 23rd and lost their home just 2 weeks later in the fire at the Jefferson Apartments. In the chaos of the wedding and the fire, Jonah didn’t remember where the wedding dress was. Then realized it had been spared!
“I saw the dress hanging up and I was like ‘it’s here!’ By then, I thought that it was already lost, but it wasn’t! It was here the whole time,” said Jonah
They told me the community has been stepping up in a major way.
“We are young, people aren’t rich, and people are really doing a lot,” said Jonah. “It’s beautiful to see, and it helps ease the struggle of all of this.”
After the fire on Tuesday, Channel 11 showed you how the Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse acted as a command center for the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
An anonymous tenant spoke to us and said, “The day of the fire, being at Sally Levin Club, and just having strangers come in off the street that weren’t a part of it, and just said ‘Hey, how can I help?’ That gave me hope. That was great. And it’s helping this entire situation.”
Karen Oosterhous is the Director of Communication. She said, “Just given the services that we provide regularly, we were able to give them clothing, shoes in some cases, emotional support, and we also have a kitchen. So, we were able to feed them and provide, like I said, just a place of respite.”
And in Greenfield, neighbors like Addy Lord have organized a GoFundMe spreadsheet and visit with tenants staying at the Rec Center.
“I talked to one resident who was giving a ride to a medical appointment to another resident,” said Lord
Public safety officials told Channel 11 the investigation is complete and that the cause of the fire should be released in the coming days.
Here is a link to the GoFundMe Donation Spreadsheet for those who are interested in donating.
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