Cooper tenants frustrated by a lack of answers following Fort Worth fire

Residents of the Cooper apartments displaced after a fire swept through their building organized a town hall Thursday to share information and socialize with others who endured same traumatic experience.

The Near Southside neighborhood rallied around the neighbors with HopFusion Ale Works providing the venue, Bodega South main providing dessert, Panther City BBQ, Bocca Osteria Romana, Ostara Coffee Roasters and Coco Shrimp providing food and drinks.

The displaced tenants shared what that day was like for them and their frustration at how long it’s taking to get answers. Many of the tenants expressed the need to get answers, assistance and find closure so they can start the healing process.

The tenants expressed frustration about their efforts to get what’s left of their belongings out of their units before they are damaged further. The were also concerned about what caused the fire and the need for financial assistance so they can rebuild their lives.

Lauren Garcia, who organized the town hall and a protest, said that it was important for her and other tenants to stand up for their rights.

“I just want to be supportive in any way I can,” Garcia said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation for everybody’s loss that we’re going through. Everyone is different. Some people lost everything, their pets, some people made it out okay, but at the end of the day, we still don’t have access to our safe space, and that’s our home.”

Information about renter’s insurance

Nicole Surrey, who had just moved to her Building 1 unit from out of town six weeks before the fire, said that she was in the shower when the fire started. Once she got out, she could hear a beep coming from far away, but the alarm inside her apartment had not gone off at all.

She said it wasn’t until she heard the firetrucks honking that she looked out from her balcony to see they were stopping right under her building. More than 800 residents were displaced June 23 in the six-alarm fire at the complex at 1001 W Rosedale St.

“So I go to the hall, and I can see it in the hall, and there’s smoke in the hall, I can see the water down from the first floor, and then I turn back and my unit is already filling with smoke,” Surrey said. “At this point, my fire alarm has still not gone off in the unit, so I’m rushing and I grab my pets and a bag, and I run out.”

Surrey also shared her frustration and dismay at how the management presented the renters’ insurance to her and other tenants. She said that if it hadn’t been for prior work experience as a licensed property and casualty insurance agent, she wouldn’t have known to get third-party insurance.

Through reading the lease and the clause about the renters’ insurance, she found out that the ‘Rent insurance’ Cushman and Wakefield made tenants pay was only for property damage that happened because of the tenants, or people visiting them, and did not cover any personal property damage due to fires and other things.

When she asked for an explanation of the coverage, she said they said they were not sure.

“In my opinion, gross negligence and misleading behavior and really problematic, because they are leasing agents,” Surrey said. “It’s in the title that your first and foremost job is to understand the lease, which includes any and all of those pieces, and understanding the details.

“We cannot comment as this is an ongoing investigation, but as always, the safety and security of the residents is our top priority,” a Cushman and Wakefield spokesperson said in a statement.

City hears from Cooper owners

Fort Worth City council member Elizabeth Beck told residents that she is sorry for what they are going through.

“We are doing everything we can to try to be a resource and as helpful as possible,” Beck said.

Beck shared an email she received Thursday afternoon, 18 days after the fire, from Ramsey Soliman, who said he is one of the senior leaders at Lightbulb Capital Group, which owns the Cooper apartments and complexes in North Texas.

She said this was progress, since this is the first time they are hearing from the owners, even though the city and organizations have been reaching out since the fire.

Beck said the email said there are several investigations underway and that Lightbulb Capital Group is working to reconcile all evaluations and recommendations to ensure that it can allow residents to access their belongings as safely as possible.

“I regret this is delaying the process of retrieving personal property,” the email stated. “Our expectation is that we’ll finalize a plan for access to share with our residents in the next few days that includes resources to help facilitate retrieval or moving of belongings.”

The email also said that tenants’ lease agreements would be terminated/canceled, and tenants would be issued a check for any prepaid rent and security deposits.

Frustration over communication delays

Garcia said that it shouldn’t have taken this long to communicate and that in these types of situations, the management company and owners should have over-communicated with the tenants and not waited until tenants and others applied pressure.

“We’re all kind of past the point of being patient. Now. We need answers. We deserve answers, we demand answers, and I think at this point, we’re all just ready to move out and move on with our lives,” Garcia said.

Some tenants shared Friday that they were able to go in person and receive checks from the management company Cushman & Wakefield and are still waiting for more information about moving out.

“This has honestly just been, like, mentally draining. And I’m not someone who’s always ever really asked for help,” tenant Daisy Chukwu said. “So even when they’re like, Oh, do you want to talk to somebody about this, the person I want to talk to is not responding. The Cooper needs to give me my stuff back.”

Kaleb Godwin and Katie Steele, a lawyer representing some tenants, answered tenants’ questions and gave them advice on what steps to take going forward.

The Red Cross attended the town hall and giving the residents information on how they could continue to help providing comfort kits, referrals to other agencies, medical equipment, spiritual care and mental health care.

Many questions remain unanswered for the tenants. They want to know what role the HVAC maintenance played in the fire, they want to know what Cushman & Wakefield knew about maintenance concerns, and when they knew it, and they want more information from the owner, Jay Schuminsky.

The Star-Telegram has reached out to the owners of The Cooper apartments, Lightbulb Capital Group, which listed the apartment complex and others in North Texas as their property online. Lightbulb Capital has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 4:32 PM.