No timetable set for displaced residents of The District to return home
By Scott Daugherty
Residents gather outside The District apartment complex in Norfolk, Va., Monday, March 28, 2016, after a small fire triggered the sprinkler system forcing them out for the night. (Amir Vera)
Residents of The District apartment complex near Old Dominion University who were displaced by a fire Monday still can't return and have no idea when they will be able to.
"We don't have any timetable right now," said Mike Evans, a spokesman for the complex on West 39th Street. "It's a bit premature because we are still assessing the damage and what needs to be done."
He said Tuesday that he expected to have more information "in a few days."
Adding to their frustration, some of the 198 displaced residents were forced Tuesday to temporarily move out of the hotel rooms the complex provided them after the fire.
"I've never been this stressed," tweeted Kristin Deegan, whose Twitter profile identifies her as a music major at ODU. "We had to check out of our hotel rooms but still can't go to our actual rooms yet, so basically we're homeless."
We had to check out of our hotel rooms but still can't go to our actual rooms yet so basically were homeless
About three hours later, Deegan tweeted she would be staying in a hotel again Tuesday night.
Evans said 128 displaced residents were put up in hotels after the fire. Others, he said, were moved to vacant beds at the property or are staying with friends.
He said some residents were told to check out of their hotel rooms Tuesday because staff "hoped" to let them return to their apartments. They couldn't do that until the fire marshal signed off on the building, though.
"It is my understanding that the fire marshal is still examining the affected units," Evans said.
He stressed that the company was working to repair the damage so residents could move back as soon as possible.
"We are committed to helping our residents through this temporary inconvenience," he said.
The fire was reported at 3:14 p.m. in Building 1. Norfolk Fire-Rescue spokesman Bill Tull said a kitchen fire in a fourth-floor apartment triggered the complex's sprinkler system. He said the water, in turn, damaged the complex's electrical system and 30 "living units."
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Tull said the fire marshal was working with The District's electrical contractor to get the power back on.
"They are still working through it," Tull said, adding he did not know when the repairs would be complete.
Until the electrical system is repaired, residents cannot live at the complex.
Evans said a disaster cleanup and restoration company was brought in Monday night to start repairs, and the company was working to keep residents informed.
The District sent several text messages to residents Tuesday, according to screen shots obtained by The Pilot. Displaced residents were told about 10 a.m. to check out of their hotels by 11 a.m and await further instruction. They were told about 2:50 p.m. they didn't have clearance to move back into their rooms, so new hotel assignments would be made.
In another text, The District told residents ODU was providing free food vouchers to residents "put out by this flood."
The District sits about two blocks south of the university. It has catered mostly to students since it opened in 2010, but ODU stopped steering students that way last fall, according to a Pilot report. It had been the scene of more than 1,300 police and fire calls over five years.
Scott Daugherty, 757-446-2343, scott.daugherty@pilotonline.com
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