Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
An electrical fire at Carson City's only men's shelter Thursday morning displaced 21 tenants and left Friends in Service Helping, the Carson City non-profit that runs the shelter, scrambling for a quick fix.
"These people are living in crisis mode as it is," said FISH Development Director Gerie Stanko of the residents. "Now we've added to the crisis."
Firefighters were called to the Focus House, 57 Gibson Way, just after 7:15 a.m. after smoke was seen in the nearly 100-year-old brick building on the Stewart Complex in southeast Carson City.
Tenant Franklin Steede, 54, said he was the first to smell smoke when he awoke just after 7 a.m.
"I was looking and I didn't see anything burning, so I started to watch a DVD," said Steede, a former Virginia City resident who said he moved into the shelter after the recession hit the construction business.
A short time later, Steede said, he could see smoke and he discovered more in the attic. The residents were quickly evacuated.
According to Stanko, firefighters were able to knock down the flames, but the shelter is now without electricity. It could be at least a month before anyone can live there again.
"We suspect we have to replace all wiring within Focus House and may be looking at the need to raise $25,000 or even more," said Jim Peckham, FISH executive director.
He said the fire's timing couldn't be worse.
"Our shelter referrals in the last two weeks have dramatically increased," he said. "In years past we used to have a much more transient population. More recently the residents have been people who've lost their jobs and they live in the community."
FISH has operated Focus House for three decades and this is the first known fire, he said.
Bill Bley, intake and referral volunteer who places people in the shelter, said he's seeing more and more locals coming to FISH for help.
"These aren't ordinary times," he said.
On Thursday afternoon, the Red Cross arrived giving each man a two-night stay in a local hotel and a $50 voucher for food. After two days, Red Cross will re-evaluate the need and adjust accordingly, said Peggy Lowndes, chair of the Red Cross' Disaster Services Committee. Lowndes was one of about six Red Cross workers who converged on the FISH office on Long Street to formulate a plan and quickly offer services to each of the shelter tenants.
But while Red Cross can help in the short term, said Stanko, it's the longterm that worries the non-profit.
"We don't know what we'll do yet," she said. "This is a 'lets work together' project. We need help."
Stanko hopes that hotel owners in the community will be willing to house shelter tenants for a minimal cost if the need arises, said Stanko.
While some of the men are like Doug Graves, 49, who said he is a week away from moving into a rental, others, like Steede, are stuck.
"I got nowhere to go," he said.