PIERRE, S.D.–A credit union here has stepped in to provide assistance after a large fire at an apartment complex displaced numerous residents.
The fire at the Edgewater Apartments, compounded by wind gusts up to 60 mph and cool temperatures, did not result in any deaths, but the building was a complete loss and destroyed the 35 occupied apartments.
According to the Dakota Credit Union Association, the fire was reported at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 14. At 8:41 p.m., Oahe Federal Credit Union posted a message on its Facebook page reading, “Starting tomorrow, Oahe Federal Credit Union will be taking any donations for the people affected by the Edgewater fire. Please drop them off at 221 E Pleasant Drive. If you are one that has been affected by the fire, please contact us at 605-224-6264 so we can get you items that you may need. If you would like to donate to these families an account has been established at Oahe FCU.”
On Jan. 15, the $32-million Oahe FCU went Live on Facebook to show how many donations had been received. The video can be viewed here. Oahe FCU also remained open on both Saturday and Sunday for limited hours to allow those affected more time to pick up needed items, the DCUA reported, River Cities Public Transit offering free rides to the credit union for those who needed to pick up items.
‘We Needed to Do Something;’
“When my coworker Jaymason Bramblee and I saw the social media posts about the fire, we knew that we needed to do something to help these families,” Julia Diedrich, assistant manager/loan officer at Oahe FCU, told the association, “It was just heartbreaking. We quickly put up a post on the credit union’s Facebook page about opening our office for donations for the fire victims. The response was incredible! Our community and surrounding communities have been amazing! By 3:00 pm Friday afternoon we had to stop the donations because we ran out of room. With the help of staff and family members, we were able to get things sorted so it was easier for families to come down and get items they needed.”
In addition to distributing household and personal items for the fire victims, Oahe FCU has also established an account to accept cash donations.