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Crews work to repair homes after Overland Park apartment fire

Posted at 9:57 PM, Mar 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-24 23:59:35-04

Days after a massive fire damaged over two dozen homes, repair crews continued to try and help victims recover on Friday.

The fire started at the CityPlace apartment complex on Monday before spreading to nearby neighborhoods.

In total, investigators say 25 homes were damaged.

Overland Park apartment fire

On Friday, ServiceMaster crews helped a victim clean and repair the inside of his home.

"We're replacing installation in the houses, anything that absorbs the smoke odors, fogging, getting all the smoke odors, cleaning the carpets," explained ServiceMaster crew member Clay Elifrits. "Just depends on the damage, and how we can get in and out."

The crews worked at a home where the roof was damaged in Monday’s fire.

The home was one of almost half a dozen that ServiceMaster worked on during the week.

Despite all the damage, Elifrits said victims remained upbeat.

"It's amazing how resilient they are," he explained. "We had one homeowner walk in and look at the hole in his roof and go, 'Thought that would be worse.'"

With more work expected through the weekend, Elifrits said he looked forward to helping the homeowners recover.

"It's all about helping the people," he said. "Get them back to living as quick as possible. Try to get the bad memories past them."