Ellington

After Stewpot Community Services' transitional home for women, the Sims House, on Capitol Street caught fire Sunday night, officials from the nonprofit organization are waiting to hear how much of the damage insurance will cover.

Three women, two children and one staff member were inside the Sims House when the porch caught fire around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29. All six people safely evacuated the building.

Heather Ivery, business administrator at Stewpot, said the fire started on the front porch and reached so high that the flames went through the floor of the attic.

She said the upstairs floor has extensive damage from the blaze. The business office has significant water damage, but none of the women's individual bedrooms were damaged.

"The rooms that these ladies were staying in were fine," Ivery said. "There's a whole half of the house that is fine."

Yesterday's fire comes after several years of hardship for Stewpot. In late 2012, someone sent a change-of-address notice for Stewpot to the U.S. Postal Service, redirecting the organization's mail, including $100,000 in donations, to a vacant house in south Jackson. Because of the theft, Stewpot announced a few months later that the organization would temporarily close its Opportunity Center and Sims House. The centers closed for about a week during July 2013 before reopening.

The women and children living at Sims House, who can stay up to 90 days while the moms look for jobs and permanent housing, have been moved to other Stewpot homes after last night's fire.

"They'll stay there, so everyone has a place to stay," Ivery said.

Ivery said it was the first fire at a Stewpot home in her 17 years working for the organization.