Weeks after Rowlett apartment fire residents still displaced, without belongings
ROWLETT (CBSNewsTexas.com) - It's been more than a month since several tenants at a Rowlett apartment complex were displaced following a fire.
They say not only has it been devastating not having a home, but some haven't been able to retrieve any of their belongings.
The Terra Lago Apartments in Rowlett was Tina Scott's home. It held the memories of her 11-year-old son, who passed away from cancer.
"Everything that I have left on this earth is in the closet of that apartment and to be told you'll never see these things again. You can't get to them. They're right there, but we just can't get to them. It's so frustrating," she said.
Scott said she was able to see some of the damage.
"I could see because I have a Ring camera at my door and the fireman broke down the door," she said. "I could see how much water was outside my apartment and I don't feel like the closet has been damaged by water," she said.
Scott says she was told she wouldn't be able to return to her apartment. Meanwhile, some of her neighbors, like Debbie Smith, say that week they were given about 10 minutes to get what they could.
"We looked around," Smith said. "We didn't see no water, we didn't see no smoke, we didn't smell anything. It just looked untouched."
Smith says she was under the impression she'd be able to return soon, but then weeks passed by.
"They just left us sitting there, wondering what's going to happen with our stuff," said Smith. "We didn't know."
In a request for comment, a representative for Terra Lago tells CBS News Texas:
"Over the past month, our team has been working around the clock on options for our residents following the August 3 fire that affected one of the two buildings of Terra Lago. We are grateful that no one was injured, but we understand how difficult a time it has been as our residents attempt to retrieve their belongings. This situation continues to involve serious safety issues and concerns; the below summarizes the sequence of events and the actions we are taking:
In the days following the initial event, based on the condition of the building, protocols established by licensed experts and limited conditions for resident entry that were approved by the City, we were able to allow residents into the affected portions of the building for escorted visits, no longer than 15 minutes, to retrieve high priority personal items.
Since those initial visits, conditions in the affected portion of the building continued to deteriorate based on the severe damage incurred and environmental factors outside our control, and the building has not been safe for resident entry. The affected portion of the building is currently subject to an unsafe building order, placed by the Rowlett Building Department on 8/17, which limits access to a specific group of licensed and credentialed experts and contractors.
Based on the conditions in the affected portion of the building, which resulted from the fire and subsequent environmental conditions, our expectation is that the affected portion of the building will not be cleared for re-entry by non-professionals until after mitigation efforts are complete (as mandated by the City), which will take several more months.
In the meantime, we hired a Certified Industrial Hygienist to assess the condition of the apartment homes in the damaged portion of the building. Additionally, for certain apartment homes in the damaged building that can be safely and legally accessed by professionals, we hired an IICRC-certified contents restoration vendor to assess the condition of residents' belongings and move anything salvageable into storage at no cost to our residents, which they will then be able to retrieve.
We have acknowledged to residents that, based on assessments conducted by our experts to date, including licensed structural engineers, there may be certain apartment homes where no personal items will be deemed recoverable by the licensed third-party expert due to the personal contents presenting a health and safety hazard and/or significant structural damage that may require demolition before these areas can be safely accessed by any party for contents retrieval.
All residents have heard directly from us on the current status of their belongings, and we will continue to keep them informed of any relevant updates."
Both Scott and Smith believe a delayed response led to this situation.
"It's just not right to me and it's not right how they were not being transparent with us the whole time," Smith said.
Smith says she has been told a licensed professional will assess some residents' belongings, including hers, and move anything salvageable into storage at no cost.
Scott has received an email stating everything she owns will be removed and disposed of.
"There's six things on my list," Scott said. "Six things on my list. If anybody can get in that apartment, I don't care about anything else."
Those who have received notice that some of their belongings might be salvageable said they've received a timeline for how long this will take which is anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks. Again, they think it's too long.