Disaster Assistance Center for condo fire victims moved to Village East Elementary

Arapahoe County has moved its Disaster Assistance Center for victims of Thursday’s Club Valencia fire.

The center is now at Village East Elementary at 1433 South Oakland Street in Aurora, the county announced in a news release. The center is open Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

A complimentary bus is available between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and will run between Club Valencia, Village East Elementary and the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds Shelter, the county said.

Previously, the center was at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. Arapahoe County spokesperson Chris Henning said the center was moved to make it closer to the condominium complex. Henning said Village East Elementary is also the school that serves the complex. 

The Thursday afternoon blaze at the Club Valencia Condominiums in Aurora left the residents of 86 units homeless. The American Red Cross and Arapahoe County stepped up to create the temporary shelter.

The 2-alarm fire broke out at roughly 12:30 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the condominium complex at 1300 S. Parker Road in unincorporated Arapahoe County. No one was seriously injured, but three were sent to the hospital for non-life threating injuries.

The county received a flood of calls from people asking how to help victims of the fire, according to a news release. The Arapahoe County Foundation has set up a fund specifically for people affected by the fire. People can donate at arapahoegov.com/foundation.

The county is looking into providing additional services, such as housing navigation services, funding assistance and animal placements, according to the news release.

South Metro Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Eric Hurst said the cause of the fire has not been determined, and no time estimate could be given on the investigation.

South Metro battled the blaze with Denver and Aurora fire departments.