Nine of the property's 56 units will be uninhabitable for an undetermined time.
WESTFIELD – Investigators continue to probe the cause of a blaze that displaced dozens of tenants and caused upwards of $1 million in damage to the Washington House apartments Monday night.
“They are still working on that investigation as we speak,” Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal’s office, said Thursday morning.
Daniel J. Kelly, executive director of the Westfield Housing Authority which owns the property, who initially pegged damage at about $800,000, said on Wednesday that the structural damage was severe. Adding to the cost, Kelly said, will be the need to bring the building up to code.
Kelly said that the occupants of 33 of the property’s 56 units are now being allowed back into their homes.
Of the remaining 23 units, Kelly said he hopes the tenants of six of will be able to return by Monday and the tenants of another eight, later that week.
The status of the remaining nine units is undetermined for now, Kelly said.
Kelly said he hopes that some of the other housing authorities in surrounding communities will be able to take in the tenants of those nine units.
The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross has been aiding those displaced. Dawn Leaks, spokeswoman for the chapter, said that the temporary shelter established at Central Baptist Church has been closed and that the Westfield Housing Authority is now providing those still displaced with shelter and food.
Leaks said the chapter has had an unusually busy summer, the residents of 22 homes within Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties needing assistance in wake of fires.
Donations can be made at redcrosscwm.org. Or by calling the chapter at (413) 737-4306.