Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for a disaster declaration for Texans affected by an apartment fire in Fort Worth last month.

"Texans affected by the Cooper Apartment Fire are now eligible to receive financial assistance to repair damages sustained to their property during the fire," said Governor Abbott. "I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working with our federal partners to ensure Texans have the resources they need to recover from this fire. Texans who sustained damages are encouraged to apply for low-interest loans so they can continue to recover."

The SBA will provide access to its Home Disaster Loans, Business Physical Disaster Loans, and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, offering low-interest loans to qualifying individuals who suffered damage during the fire.

Applicants can apply online, obtain additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at sba.gov/disaster. They may also contact SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more details on SBA disaster assistance. For those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dialing 7-1-1 will provide access to telecommunications relay services.

Completed applications should be sent to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center at 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

To assist with application processes and address inquiries about disaster loan programs, SBA representatives will open a Disaster Loan Outreach Center. Beginning Monday, July 21 at noon, this center will be located at 1100 Hemphill Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104 and will operate weekdays from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM.

Governor Abbott's request for this SBA declaration was made on July 16 after assessing damage in affected communities and confirming that it met federally required thresholds for SBA assistance.