Furniture, household items available for Midvale fire victims

SALT LAKE CITY – A nonprofit organization is working to help people who lost their homes in a large apartment complex fire in Midvale.

Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area has started offering donated furniture and household items to residents of North Union Apartments, which caught fire July 31. That fire burned for more than 24 hours and displaced families from 220 occupied units. Investigators said it was likely caused by a mechanical issue in the attic.

In the aftermath of the fire, many community groups came forward to help residents meet their immediate needs. Habitat for Humanity gathered donated furniture and home goods and is now distributing them at a warehouse in Salt Lake City. Residents with vouchers can pick up items through early October.

"We want people to feel settled," said Grace Cureau, Habitat for Humanity's development manager. "We want people to feel comfortable and have what they need, so that's what we're here for."

Besides furniture and pots and pans, Habitat for Humanity is offering diapers and wipes, makeup items, personal care products, food and even gift cards – basically anything someone who's starting over might need.

"Most of the emails that I've gotten are, 'I lost everything,'" said Cureau, "so anything helps."

Midvale Mayor Dustin Gettel said the city has been "overwhelmed" with community support since the fire nearly two weeks ago, which left residents scrambling to figure out what's next.

"Some of them have already found permanent housing, and that is success for a lot of people at this point," Gettel said. "But we know recovery looks different for pretty much every different household in the apartments."

There's no official word yet on future plans for the apartment building, but the mayor told KSL he's hearing the owners might try to rebuild.

For now, though, he said the city is just trying to make people aware of resources. Habitat for Humanity is still accepting donations. Inquiries can be made to habitat@habitatsaltlake.org.

The city of Midvale also has a list of available resources for displaced residents on its website.

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