Mental Health Association to relocate residents of fire-damaged complex
BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2012
11/15/12 at 7:34 AM
Displaced by a fire that left five neighbors in the hospital, other tenants of the Bradstone Apartments will relocate Thursday with help from their landlord, the Mental Health Association in Tulsa.
About 10 residents have been staying at a hotel since Tuesday night, when a fire damaged roughly half of the apartments at 1218 S. Quaker Ave., east of downtown.
The fire apparently started near a heater in one unit where three children were visiting their grandparents. All five of them were critically injured.
"These are our residents, and we care about our residents," said Michael Brose, executive director of the Mental Health Association.
"It's been upsetting to all of us personally."
Responding to a 911 call about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, EMSA took a 57-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman to Hillcrest Medical Center, both in critical condition.
Three children - one described as a toddler and the others as grade-school age - went to St. Francis Hospital.
All five remained hospitalized Wednesday, Brose said.
In addition, a 51-year-old man was in fair condition when he was taken by ambulance to the Oklahoma State University Medical Center late Tuesday, EMSA reported. He was treated and released and is staying at the hotel with the other residents, the Mental Health Association reported.
The fire appears to have been accidental, investigators said, but officials offered no estimate of the cost of damage.
The Mental Health Association has more than 500 housing units of different kinds across the city, all geared toward the innovative "housing first" approach to fighting homelessness.
Traditional homeless programs try to deal with addictions and mental health issues before taking people off the streets or out of shelters.
Tulsa helped pioneer the idea that the homeless need safe, stable housing before they can cope with other problems.
Officials haven't identified the victims of this week's fire.
There's no way of knowing if they were in some type of transitional program for the homeless or are mentally ill, because anyone can rent from the Mental Health Association.
What all the residents have in common, Brose said, is the need for low-income housing.
"We have an important role in the community to provide safe, affordable and desirable housing," he said. "And we're not backing off that mission because of this."
The Mental Health Association has enough vacancies at other properties to accommodate the displaced residents, he said. But his staff is rounding up donations of food, clothing and furniture.
Five units at the Bradstone remain inhabitable.
Original Print Headline: Residents to relocate after fire at complex
Michael Overall 918-581-8383
michael.overall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Damage to a unit at the Bradstone Apartment complex is seen after Tuesday's fire. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Damage to a unit at the Bradstone Apartment complex is seen after Tuesday's fire. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
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