Fire at Salem Housing Authority complex leaves 14 seniors displaced
Fourteen people are temporarily without a home after a fire Sunday afternoon swept through Robert Lindsey Tower, Salem Housing Authority’s complex for low-income seniors.
Salem fire responded to the complex just before 2 p.m. Sunday after a fire started on the third floor of the 11-story building at 370 Church St. S.E., the City of Salem said in a news release.
The fire triggered the fire suppression system on the building’s second and third floors, the release said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The building houses 62 low-income seniors. Salem Fire is evaluating the building, and tenants on other floors are sheltering in place until the evaluation is complete, the release said.
Salem Housing Authority is working with the Red Cross to find shelter for tenants who were displaced. One of the displaced tenants is at Salem Hospital, the release said. It did not say why the tenant was hospitalized.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
HOLIDAY SPECIAL: SAVE 25% off a one-year subscription to Salem Reporter. Get quality Salem news delivered to your inbox. Every subscription helps build coverage of the Salem community. Order online HERE.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
