Indianapolis veteran finds permanent housing after fire displaced him and 47 others

Marine Corps veteran Tommy Martin was sitting in his room at Manchester Apartments when the smell of smoke and burnt rubber filled the air.

“I've worked a lot of construction,” Martin said. “I was pretty sure that that was the rubber membrane on the roof. So, I pretty much knew the roof was on fire.”

Martin and another veteran walked the halls of the building knocking door-to-door, alerting other people of the fire and helping them get out.

While standing outside, Martin saw only a small flame on the roof and believed there would be minimal damage to the complex.

“I thought that it wasn't that bad and it would be put out pretty easy, but that was not the case at all,” he said.

Martin lost everything but his bike in the fire.

On Oct. 26, the Manchester Apartment building caught fire, displacing Martin and 47 other veterans from the transitional housing complex. The building is run by the nonprofit Helping Veterans and Families, or HVAF, Indiana’s largest service provider for veterans experiencing homelessness. The apartments are located in the same block as HVAF headquarters. 

The organization has relocated several displaced veterans to open units across HVAF’s 13 other properties since the fire. Others, like Martin, moved out of their temporary accommodations and into permanent housing.

“I'm doing well,” he said. “I'm really happy for one of the first times of my life.”

Martin now stands in his new apartment with a bed in the corner of the room, a refrigerator stocked with food, a closet full of clothes, a TV and his bike.

“I feel gratitude each day,” Martin said. “I would just like to let the donors know that their efforts and money is not going in vain.”

Now that Martin has permanent housing, he hopes to get employment with the Department of Public Works and to find a dentist who can fix his teeth.

According to a recent statement from HVAF, demolition began in the northern tower of the complex and work on the southern tower will start soon.

“We remain hopeful that the northern tower, which sustained significant water damage, will be available for veteran residents in about 6 months,” HVAF stated. “The southern tower rebuild timeline will be determined as we navigate our options.”

In the meantime, HVAF continues the work of finding permanent housing solutions for the displaced veterans who remain in temporary housing.

The number of veterans experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis has been trending down in recent years.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.