Apartment Complex Fire, 66 Units Destroyed (Seattle, WA - September 1991) » Interagency Relief Coordination

This fire had the attributes of a small disaster. It left 224 people temporarily homeless, most of whom were low income minorities and immigrants. Translators from within and outside the Fire Department were needed to speak in six languages to understand the problems of the fire victims and to question them as to whether all had gotten out. The language needed were Russian, Greek, Vietnamese, Spanish, Chinese and Ethiopian.

The agencies involved in the relief effort were the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists, Division of Emergency Management (part of the City’s Department of Administrative Service), the Department of Human Services, and the state’s Department of Social and Health Services. In addition, a rented team of dogs were used briefly to check the rubble for victims (none were found).

The Red Cross sent a response team to the scene. In the absence of a formal relief coordinator on the scene, they became the de facto coordinator. The Red Cross focused on immediate shelter and mass feeding. The Seventh Day Adventists focused on providing clothing and, later, furniture. The Salvation Army helped feed firefighters and other emergency workers on the scene. The Department of Human Services provided personnel for case work. The Office of Emergency Management, besides getting the Red Cross to the scene, helped arrange for cranes to search for victims in the rubble and screen meshes needed to sift the rubble for clues as to the origin.

The Red Cross representative said they were overwhelmed at first by the crush of people seeking help, many of whom were immigrants. The Red Cross used a local high school as a shelter and base. They served over 1500 free meals. Food vouchers were given to victims to use at a local grocery store. Up to three days at local hotels and motels were made available to 120 residents who applied for it. About 20 people stayed in the high school gym.

Some people who did not live in the complex turned out to receive emergency benefits. The service agencies did only a cursory screening; they were more concerned that the needy were served than that a few others snuck in. The resident manager and neighbors were able to help vouch for most people seeking help.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services had a number of special problems to deal with. Victims needed a variety of assistance:

• Temporary immigration papers
• Temporary drivers licenses for those needing them to work
• Food stamps and free health care documents for those on welfare
• An interim address to which welfare checks could be sent
• Tools for people who depended on them for their jobs
• Transportation to jobs and relatives
• Medication
• Dentures

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