Community reaching out to victims of Bessemer apartment fire

Tragedy struck on Father’s Day when a fire at General Clay Apartments in Bessemer’s Southside left more than 100 people homeless.

“They’re just starting to really feel the loss,” said Cynthia Stephenson-Donald, councilwoman for District 3 in Bessemer. Donald has been with the victims every day since the fire. In spite of the sadness in the wake of tragedy, she said, “They feel like there is hope. The community has really come together around this.”

Almost all of the victims lost everything to the flames. In response, several Mountain Brook residents used the Facebook page “What’s Happening in Mountain Brook” to organize a collection of much-needed supplies.

At 6:55 a.m. on June 23, Adele Culp posted an article about the fire and asked, “I wonder if, as a group, we could do something to help?” Almost immediately, Mountain Brook residents began commenting to express their desire to help.

“I’m touched by how responsive people have been,” said Culp, who has been in touch with Bessemer City Hall and the Antioch Baptist Church in Bessemer in order to figure out the best way to help the victims of the fire.

“It started off small, but grew quickly via social media,” said Christy Trotter, who has aided in the organization of the collection alongside Culp.

Because of the overwhelming response, Trotter asked the Mountain Brook Fire Department in Crestline to aid in organizing the collection and delivery. The Mountain Brook Fire Department coordinated with the Bessemer Fire Department and agreed that the Crestline fire station could serve as the local drop-off location.

“The collection started off with mostly clothing for the children involved, but it quickly grew to adults’ clothing, furniture, baby items and even dog food. My own children even gave some of their toys,” said Trotter.

According to Donald, over half of the victims of the fire have at least temporary living facilities. Most-needed items, she said, include furniture, bedding, linens, dishes and other household items. Gift cards for stores such as Wal-Mart, Target and Sam’s as well as prepaid cards such as Visa gift cards are useful as well. 

Culp posted on “What’s Happening in Mountain Brook” that the Antioch Baptist Church in Bessemer needs moving boxes to help organize clothes and could use volunteers to help sort through and distribute donations.

Although an earlier post on “What’s Happening in Mountain Brook” stated that donations would be accepted at the Crestline Fire Station until Saturday, June 27 at 3 p.m., donations were accepted through Sunday, June 28 because they will not be delivered to Bessemer until Monday.

For more information, contact Adele Culp at 910-6803 or adeleculp@gmail.com.