Fire victims in Starkville will soon have a free place to stay in the event of a house fire.
The Starkville Fire Department is partnering with the Starkville Housing Authority to open a shelter for fire victims at the old Brickfire building at 197 Pecan Acres, the first of its kind for city residents.
SFD staff will undertake all construction aspects of remodeling, adding a shower unit, painting and cleaning the new shelter, SFD Chief Charles Yarbrough said.
The shelter will be able to host those in need for 3 to 5 days. Each stay would be determined on an individual case basis, and victims could be eligible to stay in the shelter longer than the initial duration, he added.
Total occupancy numbers are not available at this time since construction has yet to start.
“Most people don’t think about what happens to the victims of structure fires once their place goes up,” Yarbrough said.
Even small, contained kitchen fires can displace families due to intense smoke damage.
“The last thing we want fire victims in Starkville to worry about is where they are going to stay, how they are going to eat and what kind of clothes or other things they are going to need,” Yarbrough said.
SHA will cover all utility fees associated with the shelter, set to open June 1.
Officials want to move quickly on the project, Yarbrough said.
“I wanted to push this forward quickly because we could have a structure fire today,” Yarbrough said. “You just never know.”
SFD will use some leftover building materials from past station maintenance. Fire officials will reach out to area businesses until the end of April for donations.
Businesses interested in donating building supplies should contact Yarbrough at 662-323-1845.
“I don’t think it will be hard to reach our goal,” Yarbrough said. “The community always comes together here.”
Construction will begin in May, the chief said. He presented the idea to SHA officials earlier in April, and received immense support from city leaders after bringing the idea forward at the April 19 Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting.
The project will be completed at no cost to the city, and aldermen unanimously approved the property acquisition of the space on April 19.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said at the meeting.
In the past, The Red Cross and the Oktibbeha-Starkville Emergency Response Volunteer Services citizen corps paid for area fire victims to stay in a hotel. The shelter will let the groups provide other means of support, Yarbrough said.
He got the idea after being shown the new shelter set up by Columbus Fire Chief Martin Andrews for fire victims in Columbus. Yarbrough wanted to thank SHA, city leaders and his SFD staff for their quick response and support of the shelter.
“A lot of people don’t know, our firefighters are some of the best in the state,” Yarbrough said. “These guys are very passionate. When I took this to them, they were immediately on board. This is community project.”
SHA could not be immediately reached for comment.