Red Cross needs housing for victims of shelter fire

PARIS (AP) — Red Cross officials said they must immediately secure housing for the survivors of a fire that killed five homeless shelter residents.

"The shelter we have established at the First United Methodist Church is not permanent. We have it only for three days, and we will have to find other quarters for them," Red Cross Executive Director Brad Scott said in an online story Tuesday for The Paris News.

The fire happened early Monday at a shelter run by the nonprofit Seed Sowers Christians in Action. The shelter is in a converted bakery in this small Northeast Texas town. The fire started just before 3 a.m. and sent the residents inside scrambling outside into frigid, rainy conditions.

Some escaped barefoot and others left shivering without having time to grab clothes or coats.

A fire marshal has said it could take weeks to determine what caused the fire. The names of the five victims, some of them left almost unidentifiable to investigators, were not immediately released.

Their bodies were sent to Dallas late Monday for autopsies and positive identification, officials said.

The Red Cross originally was providing shelter for 21 men, but some have left to stay with relatives or friends.

"We will be looking for a place to move the men later this week. We have a meeting Wednesday to decide what to do. We want to keep them together," said Carrie Newman, finance director of the Red Cross.

Scott said a lot of medications were lost in the fire, and the Red Cross is trying to replace those medications, with the help of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bonham, Agape House and Kings Daughters.

He said the public had responded generously by providing clothing and shoes and additional contributions would be welcomed.

According to the group's Web site, Seed Sowers Christians in Action relies on contributions to provide services to the homeless and low-income people. The shelter provides meals five days a week, according to the site. The group also has a smaller shelter for women and children at a different location.