Five days after fire destroyed the apartments at 103 N. Franklin Ave., a complex formerly known as Campus Courts, the city of Ames will determine today whether owners Terri and Phil O’Berry can restore utilities to those units left untouched by flames.

Ames firefighters arrived at the scene at 4:09 a.m. Friday and worked for more than three hours to extinguish the blaze, according to a press release. Of 23 tenants, 18 were home at the time of the fire, and all were evacuated without injury.

Terri O’Berry said even though only the first 12 of 18 apartments were ruined, all residents were evacuated and utilities were shut off to all units. She will meet with city officials this morning to decide whether utility services can be restored.

“The city has to determine whether that will be safe,” O’Berry said.

The Red Cross is providing housing for the homeless tenants at the Howard Johnson Express Inn on Highway 69, she said. If utilities can be turned on in the standing units, she said those tenants can move back in soon.

However, those living in the first 12 units will have to look for new residences until the complex is rebuilt — if the city gives O’Berry permission to do so.

“It can only be rebuilt if not more than 60 percent of it is destroyed,” she said. “Right now it’s looking to come in at about 45 percent totally destroyed, and we’d be able to repair that.”

O’Berry will meet with the city building inspector in the near future to assess the percentage damaged, she said.

The cause of the fire also has yet to be determined, said Ames Fire Captain Rich Taylor. The case was still under investigation Monday afternoon, he said.

Lightning has been listed as a possible cause, O’Berry said.

“Until we read [the Fire Department’s] report, we don’t know what they’ll be able to come up with or whether they’ll even be able to come up with one,” she said.

O’Berry said it has been difficult dealing with the aftermath of such a destructive fire, especially because none of the tenants had renter’s insurance, and the owner’s insurance does not cover tenant property.

“A lot of college students think, ‘Oh, we don’t have anything,’ so they’re not going to pay for coverages,” O’Berry said. “But even a person with very minimal possessions will miss them.”