Edhat Staff
Update by the edhat staff
September 12, 2023
A total of 14 residents are displaced following the Beach City apartment fire this past weekend.
On Monday the management company of the housing complex, St. George & Associates, posted an update on their Instagram account @beachcityliving.
The post stated the fire begain Saturday evening in Unit 1 of Building 807. Firefighters evacuated the entire building and contained the fire to one unit, although the adjacent unit was deemed uninhabitable due to smoke damage.
The property management company states there are a total of 14 displaced residents, six living in unit 1 and eight living in unit 2. The fire inspector reportedly approved the rest of the units to be ok for tenants to return.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Fire at Beach City Student Housing Displaces At Least Six Residents
By the edhat staff
September 9, 2023
A Saturday night fire at a student housing complex near Santa Barbara City College damaged two apartments and left at least six people displaced.
Around 9:30 p.m., Santa Barbara City firefighters responded to the large apartment buildings in the 800 block of Cliff Drive on the corner of Loma Alta Drive.
Firefighters evacuated multiple nearby units as a safety precaution and began tackling the fire. It appears to have started in an upstairs unit before spreading to the common attic and affecting other units.
Firefighters had to access an adjacent unit to reach the corner unit where the fire was initially burning. Holes were quickly cut in the roof to provide ventilation in a bid to stop the fire from spreading further.
Approximately 20 minutes later, crews announced control of the fire, although several units received fire, water and smoke damage.
At least six people were displaced by the fire, with as many as eight units possibly uninhabitable due to the extent of the damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Personnel from the Montecito Fire Protection District and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department also assisted city firefighters in handling other calls while they tackled the structure fire.
St. George and Associates own the Beach City student-housing complex, which is near Santa Barbara City College.
Beach City Student-Housing Complex (courtesy photo)
So…is Big Ed going to take care of his displaced tenants? Six people, two units. How many bedrooms are in the two, as yet verified, uninhabitable apertments?
*apartments
Displaced? They can just go home.
OLDE – do you know were each of the tenants live and what their home situation is? If so, please convey my sympathies to them.
SBCC is hands on. These students have weeks of classes and classwork ahead of them. Yes, you can you bet that they have concerns. Thankfully, they will be taken care of through the college community.
“… total of 14 displaced residents, six living in unit 1 and eight living in unit 2. ” OMG, how big are these units?
If Beach City is right, I assume so, we see another example of Ed’s pushing the limit. One suspects that a “dormitory” structure would have more strict rules regarding fire safety and such than an “apartment” and would cost Ed more if he had to comply with such rules.
Some of the apartments at Beach City have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and officially house up to 8 persons. They also offer 4 bedroom places that can house up to 7 persons (some bedrooms are very small, I assume). They also have smaller apartments, with 1 and 2 bedrooms. There’s a website that has 3-D depictions of the floor plans, complete with furnishings. Give it a look, kinda interesting.
6:05 pm, I will wait to pass judgement until we learn what caused the fire. In many ways, this *is* a dormitory. The apartments are furnished, and utilities are included. Up to four bedrooms share a kitchen, and there’s no dining hall as far as I know—but the rooms have egress windows and appear to meet basic building code requirements. Not sure what makes it less safe than a dorm or standard apartment building.
It’s not his job to take care of the students but most landlords who rent to college kids encourage them to have renter’s insurance that will pay for them to move into another place. Renter’s insurance is vital for renters, otherwise you are really going to hurt when you’re displaced by fire, like this.