FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The community is coming together to support the Fort Collins Rescue Mission after a fire broke out in the kitchen over the weekend, causing extensive damage to the building.
While there were no injuries, dozens of people staying at the shelter were displaced.
“We were full. We had 89 men in our shelter that night,” said Seth Forwood, Northern Colorado vice president of programs for the Rescue Mission. “And so we started planning around where else we could go to give guys a place to rest.”
Poudre Fire Authority said the fire started “at the base of a food warming cabinet.” While the flames and worst damage stayed inside the kitchen, the smoke caused damage throughout the building.
Forwood credited the lack of injuries to his staff’s quick response, but acknowledged the tough road ahead.
“We don't know if that's going to be weeks or months when we can get back and use this as a shelter,” he told Denver7. “We are missing out on showers, we're missing out on adequate bathrooms. We're missing out on a lot of services that we depend on here… We would like to get back in here as soon as possible, but we want to make sure it's safe and dignified.”
The Rescue Mission is building a new, larger homeless shelter nearby, but it is slated to open in late 2026. Forwood called that “the long-term solution,” but said, “We might have to just find some creative solutions until we can get into that new building that’s… built for this purpose.”
Forwood thanked the Red Cross for helping move people into a local church for a place to sleep in the days after the fire.
The Rescue Mission plans to use a partnership with the City of Fort Collins to move residents to a building traditionally used as an overflow shelter during cold weather in the winter. It will accommodate 70 beds.
The Rescue Mission said it is also working with Catholic Charities and nonprofit Homeward Alliance “to make sure shelter is available.”
Homeward Alliance opened its day shelter, Murphy Center For Hope, early after the fire, executive director David Rout told Denver7.
“This was a traumatic event for a lot of people, and the Murphy Center has a lot of resources to help people work through that trauma,” he explained.
Rout added that Homeward Alliance is offering supplies and free loads of laundry for those impacted by the fire.
“Having clean clothes and feeling clean just sort of gives people a sense of dignity,” Rout said. “If anything good can come of this, I think it's a reminder for all of us as community members just how vulnerable this population is and the extent to which we all need to come together, not just when things like this happen, but every day, to make sure we're responding to the issue of homelessness correctly and with the interests of the people we're serving in mind.”
Forwood called the other organizations an “overwhelming network of support," but also said the Rescue Mission is welcoming donations during this critical time.
“I believe our insurance deductible is $100,000, and so that's kind of the first thing that we need to try to raise around,” he said. “We're going to keep helping those men that have no other option, and that's just what we're here to do.”
