SAN ANTONIO – Mohammad Rahimi stood outside his burned apartment building at the Wurzbach Manor Apartments Tuesday, trying to figure out who might be able to direct him to where to find shelter for his family, a group of 10.
“I tried to figure out where should I go tonight and where should I stay because I have four kids and my wife and also my friend. He has two kids. He came as a guest in my house,” he explains.
The Red Cross has provided vouchers for all 14 families impacted. They say there were 38 children and 31 adults. The agency also provided medicine for those who lost that in the fire and they provided referrals to other agencies that can help victims in the coming days. Mental health counselors are also available to those who need it.
Rahimi was able to find a hotel for his family to stay a few days but, he’s worried about their future needs and his children missing school. His concerns are like many other families impacted by the fire. He was an Afghan translator and can speak English but, many other families are limited, says Matthew Gruber with New Hope Connection. Gruber and his church group help provide resources for the refugees in the complex. He says this is the second time many families have lost everything.
“The families have now gone through another tragedy that you know, has impacted their life. And so, you know, they’ve lost pretty much everything again,” Gruber said.
KSAT reached out to the San Antonio Center for Refugee Services, who said they were not aware of the fire but would investigate on Wednesday how they can help families impacted.
Gruber says some families are staying with other relatives in the apartment complex. Others are waiting to get another unit that might be available.
If you would like to help the Red Cross, there’s a link to donate. You can specify that you want the funds to go towards the Wurzbach Manor Fire victims.
SAFD says they don’t have a cause of the fire yet and it may be difficult to determine given how much damage there was due to the fire.