Thomas Campbell Apartments unveils renovated apartments two years after fire
Leadership at Thomas Campbell Apartments gathered residents Wednesday to show them the newly renovated seventh-floor apartments that were destroyed in a fire nearly two years ago.
The Dec. 23, 2021, fire started in a sixth-floor apartment. Frances Venen, 78, died days later of smoke inhalation and thermal burns while five other residents were injured.
The seventh floor was rendered uninhabitable due to smoke damage.
On Wednesday, property manager Pat Gould and Arthur Keys, president of Thomas Campbell’s board, spoke about the journey to making the seventh floor livable again.
“It has been a long road,” Gould said. “I especially want to thank those who were there for us in the beginning. Freedom Transit, Blueprints, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the hundreds of people from the city of Washington and surrounding communities that helped us when we needed it the most.”
Part of the renovations after the fire was to install a sprinkler system and hardwired fire alarms.
Keys said the total cost of the work was about $7 million.
“That comes from insurance, it comes from private funds of our own and from a loan,” Keys said.
Thomas Campbell renovated 30 of its apartments on the sixth and seventh floors, 10 of which are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Marcy Kiefer lived on the sixth floor when the fire broke out, and recalled a “very scary” experience.
Kiefer said she waited about 20 minutes for firefighters to be able to evacuate her from the building. She was then hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Kiefer stayed with her son for four months until she was able to move back into the apartment complex. She now lives on the second floor, and that is where she would like to stay, as she is not comfortable being on a higher level.
Dec. 23 was a difficult day for Thomas Campbell residents, and the experience still affects Kiefer.
“I get leery,” Kiefer said. “I don’t like the fire trucks. Still, I don’t like them coming. I get some of that panic when I see fire trucks coming when these alarms go off.”