Ridgeland schools work together to help students displaced by weekend fires

RIDGELAND, Miss. (WLBT) - At least 10 families in Ridgeland schools have been displaced by two apartment fires that destroyed their homes on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.

Ridgeland High School’s principal, Keith Fennell, and other administrators have been reaching out to their affected students since their homes were still in flames.

READ MORE: Red Cross working to help victims of three weekend apartment fires

“I had the opportunity to get up there and check on our students while the fire was ongoing. It was a tragic scene,” Fennell said.

Keith Fennell has only been at Ridgeland High School for a year, but he’s been through situations where his students have lost everything before. He and other administrators from Ridgeland schools immediately began to find ways to help their kids as soon as they arrived at the fires.

“There were other administrators that showed up at the events and some teachers and coaches in addition, to just try to comfort them and make them understand they’ve got the most important things still," he said. "They have each other, and they have their family. There was no loss of life, no injury, and the other things, as difficult as it may be for a teenager, those things can be replaced.”

Now the long process of replacing almost their entire lives begins. Fennell said the school system is there to help mitigate that process.

“Unfortunately, having been through scenarios like this, we were prepared to put efforts in place and get the information where it needs to be to ensure that our students had the things in place to manage the transition, and I say manage because it’s going to be an ongoing process for them and their family,” he said.

You can drop off gift cards and donations at the Ridgeland Academic Opportunities center right off the Gluckstadt exit.

“We want them to continue to know they have a place and their Titan family cares about them," Fennell said.

The following sizes are needed:

SHOES:

Toddler/Baby - 6 months, 8 months

Boys - 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6

Girls - 2, 3

Women - 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, 11

Men - 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 11, 11.5

SHIRTS:

Baby/ Toddler - 3-6 months, 2T

Girls - 8, 8-10

Boys - 6-7, 10-12, Youth Medium, 14-16

Women - Small, Medium, XL, 3XL

Men - Medium, Large, 2XL

PANTS:

Baby/Toddler - 3-6, 2T

Girls - 8, 8-10

Boys - 6/7, 8, 10-12, 12 Husky/ 14 regular, 14-16, 16-18 Husky

Women - 4, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, 22

Men - 28/30, 32/30, 30/32, 34/32, 36/30

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