More than 70 residents of The Light House shelter in Annapolis were temporarily displaced following a one-alarm fire at the facility, shelter officials say.
Annapolis city firefighters responded to a report of a fire at the shelter at 10 Hudson St. at about 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, just as heavy rains were starting to fall on the city. Once inside, they found an extinguished fire in a second-floor laundry room. No one was injured.
The fire was caused by a malfunctioning light fixture in the laundry room, according to Lt. Tony Williams of the Fire Marshal’s Office.
“A total of 70 people were displaced primarily as a result of water dispersal from the sprinkler system,” the shelter said in a news release. “Residents will return to the building after appropriate repairs and inspection.”
The city opened an emergency shelter at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center to provide shelter for displaced residents. Forty-four residents were transported there. Other residents found overnight accommodations with family or friends.
“All of us at The Light House would like to express our sincerest gratitude to those who have been assisting us during this time,” said Heather Cassity, the shelter’s executive director, in a statement. “This was a tremendous coordinated effort. Everyone came together to help our neighbors in need.”
On Thursday, shelter spokesperson Lara Ippolito said displaced residents had been relocated to hotel rooms.
“We have now moved our individual residents into hotel rooms temporarily until the individual residential spaces at The Light House can be occupied,” she said in an email. “We are continuing to assess all areas of our building and work through the inspection process.”
As the Baltimore region braces for a cold snap in the coming days, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said it would open the Stanton Center at 92 West St. as an emergency warming shelter from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Friday Jan. 12 through Tuesday Jan. 16. Referrals must check in by 9 p.m. nightly.
This story has been updated.
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