Residents displaced by San Francisco fire worried they'll be homeless

Byby Sergio Quintana KGO logo
Monday, July 11, 2016
Residents displaced by San Francisco fire worried they'll be homeless
Some people have spent four weeks in temporary housing after a fire broke out at their residential building in San Francisco and now they're worried they'll be forced to live on the streets.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Some people have spent four weeks in temporary housing after a fire broke out at their residential building in San Francisco.

They can't go back to their homes because the building is damaged and they're afraid they'll now be forced to live on the streets, so they want the mayor to step in.

RELATED: 2 injured in fire that damaged 6 buildings in San Francisco's Bernal Heights

Some residents who were displaced from last month's fire in Bernal Heights are still looking for someplace to live.

They've been staying at local motels, but they say they've been told they may have to move out of the motels and into local shelters.

WATCH VIDEO: Emotional SF residents collect belongings after 5-alarm blaze

Jose and Robert Montoya are brothers and they've been at the Oaisis Inn for the last week.

They've been given an extra day by the American Red Cross to stay there, but they don't know where they're going to go after that.

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A fire burns at Cole's Hardware in San Francisco's Mission District on Saturday, June 18, 2016.
KGO-TV

They are like a few other displaced residents of this fire who say they are having trouble finding other rental homes to go to while their current building is renovated following the fire.

They are asking for help from the Red Cross and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. "The mayor assured us that we wouldn't be homeless, that was a promise. He goes, 'I promise nobody in this room will be homeless."' Jose said.

"They're telling us: 'We haven't found you an SRO and Monday is all we can do for you. It's check out time and you can go to a shelter,"' displaced resident Michelle Thompson said.

The Bernal Heights fire displaced nearly 60 residents from several buildings.

Two households ABC7 News talked with say they haven't received much guidance on applying for other homes.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to support the displaced residents, but they said they dont' seem to know how to contact the owner of that page.

They say they could use some extra money in their searches for new housing.

Click here to help the residents affected by the fire.

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