Baldwin House Hotel Fire

In June of 2002 the Baldwin House Hotel had a fire that displaced over 200 residents. Typically, hotel owners take years to renovate their hotels after a fire to make them habitable again, but in this case the Central City SRO Collaborative worked with Baldwin House tenants to pressure the owner to make repairs quickly and efficiently. They also successfully lobbied local government officials to extend their housing vouchers so they would not become homeless while they waited for the hotel to reopen. After holding a vigil to call attention to the hundreds of hotel rooms lost to fire in San Francisco, tenants were able to move back into the Baldwin after the city helped house them the entire time they were displaced.

Baldwin House tenants gather for a vigil to call attention to the 1700 hotel rooms lost to fire in San Francisco since 1988

A Baldwin House tenant answers a reporter’s questions about the fire in his hotel