'It's A Total Loss': Cambridge Fire Guts Affordable Housing Unit

Cambridge officials say they've disbursed more than $87,000 in aid to some of the 125 people displaced by this weekend's 10-alarm fire in East Cambridge. They Mayor's Relief Fund has raised more than $575,000 so far.

The immediate cash aid is just the first step in the long rebuilding process faced by Berkshire Street residents. There's no doubt this neighborhood will bounce back, but what will it look like when it does?

Real estate values in East Cambridge are rapidly rising, and many of the families displaced by the fire were living in affordable housing. At St. Patrick's Place, 16 units were destroyed.

"It's a total loss and all of the families ... need to find other permanent housing," says Deborah Rue, executive director of Just-A-Start, the Cambridge community development corporation that owns St. Patrick's Place.

Deborah Rue, executive director of Just-A-Start, which tweets @justastartcorp.