By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington fire investigators say a blaze to a 12-unit apartment building on Bloomington’s east side Saturday caused $650.000 in damages, while they say they still don’t know what caused the fire.
Fire crews arrive on scene of the Gettysburg Drive blaze shortly after 3 p.m. Bloomington Fire Department spokesman Stuart Blade said fire was reported in the lower level of the middle apartment and extending to the second floor of the rear of the building. Crews battled interior and exterior firefighting efforts for five hours until the fire was brought under control at 8:30 p.m.
Educators at Adlai Stevenson Elementary School in Bloomington say they are overwhelmed by the community’s response to a request for donations to help the seven displaced families. Donations of food, clothing and other items have filled the grade school gym.
“We have six or seven huge tables that are filed with clothing and bags we are still going through today,” second-grade teacher Alison Scott said. “It’s been incredible the amount of contributions that the community has been making.”
Scott added the family needs gift cards and cash donations to help by the items they are still without.
“We are so overwhelmed with all those clothing donations even household items and toys that what could best help the families immediately would be any monetary donations and donations of gift cards – eating out (at) places locally, grocery stores.”
The school is open until 5 p.m. today to accept the donations. Classes are not in session. It’s a School Improvement Day in District 87.
Meanwhile, a third-grade teacher at Northpoint Elementary in Bloomington is collecting donations at school to give to the families.
Twenty-nine people were displaced by the Gettysburg Drive apartment fire including several Stevenson families.
Bloomington Fire reports it received assistance from Normal Fire, Towanda Fire, Downs Fire Protection District plus the Illinois Department of Transportation and Bloomington Police, Public Works and Water Department.
One firefighter was injured while battling the blaze but they are out of the hospital.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
