58 displaced at Chesapeake apartments for homeless

By Scott Daugherty The Virginian-Pilot July 10, 2014

CHESAPEAKE

Kendra Smith wasn't thrilled with her temporary home Wednesday.

Her apartment building was evacuated the night before because of a kitchen fire in one of the units, so the 55-year-old former accountant was staying at the Red Roof Inn on Woodlake Drive. She said it was difficult for her to walk upstairs to her second-floor room. She also lamented leaving some of her heart medication in her apartment and wished she'd grabbed her coffee maker.

But given Smith's former living arrangements, she wasn't complaining. The hotel was better than the Jeep Grand Cherokee she called home before moving into Heron's Landing last year.

"This ain't home, but at least it's got a roof," Smith said with a laugh Wednesday while chatting with friends outside the hotel.

Fifty-eight formerly homeless people - including veterans, unemployed construction workers and former police officers - were forced from their apartments Tuesday after a fire in the 2100 block of S. Military Hwy. All are expected to be able to return today, officials said.

Capt. Scott Saunders, a Fire Department spokesman, said the 10:15 p.m. blaze in a second-floor apartment triggered the building's sprinkler system. He said only one sprinkler head was activated, but water flooded parts of the first and second floors and forced the building's electricity to be turned off.

One resident suffered smoke inhalation but refused to be taken to the hospital, Saunders said. There were no other injuries.

Heron's Landing opened in March 2013. The 60-unit, $10 million project offers formerly homeless adults the chance to live in studio apartments. The building was funded by South Hampton Roads cities and is run by the nonprofit Virginia Supportive Housing.

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58 displaced at Chesapeake apartments for homeless