Governor Abbott Expands Relief Efforts with SBA Assistance for Fort Worth Fire Victims

Governor Greg Abbott has announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for a disaster declaration to assist Texans impacted by the recent Cooper Apartment Fire in Fort Worth.

"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 is offering several types of low-interest loans to qualifying individuals and businesses:

Home Disaster Loans: Available to homeowners and renters for repairing or replacing damaged real estate and personal property.

Business Physical Disaster Loans: Designed for businesses to repair or replace damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery, and equipment.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL): Provide working capital to small businesses and private non-profit organizations to help meet financial obligations that cannot be met due to the disaster's impact.

Applicants can apply online, obtain additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at sba.gov/disaster. For further assistance, individuals can contact the SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability can dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

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

To assist applicants, the SBA will open a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 1100 Hemphill Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104. The center will operate weekdays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, starting Monday, July 21 at 12:00 PM.

Governor Abbott's request for this SBA declaration on July 16 followed a thorough analysis of the damage sustained in the affected communities, confirming that the impact met the federally required thresholds for SBA assistance.