One of those killed in Cathedral City fire was homeless. Friends are mourning his loss

One of the three people killed in a Cathedral City fire was homeless, the leader of a local nonprofit said this week. Phillip Pape, 46, is being mourned by other members of the tight-knit unhoused community.

The fire at the vacant former Elks Lodge building on East Palm Canyon Drive was reported around 7 a.m. Saturday. Police reported that people were inside and running from the building when they arrived at the scene, city Fire Chief Michael Contreras said.

The Riverside County coroner hadn't released the identities of the two other people who died as of Thursday morning. It was not immediately clear whether they were also homeless.

Matt Naylor, acting president of the nonprofit social services provider Well in the Desert, said Tuesday that Pape had been a client for about five months and that other clients were in the building as well, some of whom escaped unhurt. Pape's death hit many unhoused people hard.

"They're friends and they're families because they have no one else to be with them, and so when someone's lost … which happens often when someone dies, they feel the loss of that individual because they're used to seeing them everyday ... They're one big family," Naylor said.

One other person was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.

Naylor said Pape started coming to Well in the Desert after moving to the Coachella Valley recently from Los Angeles. A Facebook post from a man who identified himself as a former classmate suggests Pape attended high school in the Coachella Valley.

Well in the Desert provides meals and other services to people impacted by poverty, such as homeless people, people with disabilities and seniors. One of its clients was who called 911 when the fire started.

The building is at 67-491 East Palm Canyon Drive, by the Goodwill Store and Donation Center and across the street from Trader Joe's and Target.

Firefighters contained the fire by around 10 a.m., about three hours after it started, according to Contreras, the fire chief. He said Tuesday the cause likely won't be determined soon.

Naylor said the community needs to do better about finding places for people to sleep at night so they aren't reduced to finding potentially unsafe empty buildings to stay in.

"We have to have a place for individuals to go while we get them help, and there isn't anywhere," he said.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.