By Ashley Yarchin
St. Louis (KSDK) - It's been nearly a week since a Central West End apartment complex went up in flames. The building at Lindell and Vendventer caught fire last Tuesday, and those with belongs still salvageable were finally allowed back in Monday.
The process began around 8:30 a.m. with just nine residents, in three separate time intervals. That's because there are just three stairwells that have been deemed safe for the move.
With the help of movers brought in by the building, they brought everything out, and then, on the street, boxed things up and loaded them onto trucks. For some folks, this was the first time they were allowed back into their units, so, it was the first time they had a chance to see what could be saved and what could not.
"Most of the stuff was fine but we've yet to see if there's been smoke damage," explained Francis Dailey, a third-year medical student at St. Louis University. "I looked across the way and a lot of those apartments are all completely destroyed and a lot of the stuff is damaged. I doubt people in the apartments directly across from us will be able to retain any possessions. It's really sad for them."
Now, that same process will continue for all of the other residents who had apartments in the area of the complex deemed the 'safe zone.' Unfortunately, there are many others who will never get to go back in since it is just too unsafe to get to where they lived.
KSDK