Cooper tenants devastated by loss of treasured items in Fort Worth apartments

A passport, wedding invitations, a grandmother’s jewelry, kids’ stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments. These are some of the items residents left behind in their apartments at The Cooper, and they may never see them again.

Over a month after a six-alarm fire broke out at The Cooper apartments in Fort Worth on June 23, residents are learning what’s to become of their most treasured personal belongings.

The new management company of The Cooper, RPM Living, which took over in mid-July, sent emails to residents over the last week, providing move-out schedules for some but dashing the hopes of others who have been told their apartments are unsafe to enter.

Many residents said they’re still feeling frustrated and are fighting for the building’s owners, management and others to be held accountable, including through a newly filed lawsuit.

Some units, belongings deemed a total loss

On Thursday, July 31, some residents in Building 1 — the building in which the fire occurred — received a letter from RPM Living. Though tenants have been able to cancel their leases without penalty, the company told Building 1 residents that their leases would be terminated within seven days.

On top of their leases being terminated, residents who received the letter learned that they would not be able to go into their apartments to get any of their personal possessions back, according to the letter. The management company said it would be disposing of all of their property.

The letter listed three reasons why some residents could not retrieve their belongings:

• 1. The building is structurally unsafe around the resident’s apartment;
• 2. The resident’s belongings were completely destroyed by the fire; or
• 3. The resident’s belongings are contaminated by toxic mold.

“We will remove and dispose of the remains of your personal property because it causes a health and safety hazard,” the letter reads. “We are very sorry for your loss.”

Some apartments contaminated with toxic material

A few days later, on Saturday, Aug. 2, some Building 1 residents received another letter from RPM Living about their belongings. Residents who received this letter were told they could claim their personal property, but only if the items were retrieved and cleaned by a qualified professional at the residents’ expense.

Much of the property of residents who received this letter is contaminated with toxic materials, the letter states. No one other than the approved vendors will be allowed access into those apartments, including the residents.

“Some of your personal property may not be salvageable,” the letter reads. “It is recommended to contact one of the vendors listed above to determine what may be salvageable.”

RPM Living provided the contacts of three approved vendors, and the company requested that any other vendor be approved by RPM Living and fill out a waiver and release of liability, according to the letter.

Residents were given 10 days to either hire a vendor or waive their rights to their personal property.

Building 1 residents frustrated with communication

Alberto, a resident of Building 1 who requested that his last name be withheld, received both emails from RPM Living, which he said was super confusing.

He has been emailing management requesting specific information since July 20, he said. Although he received a response, management did not provide what he requested.

“The only communication in the past three weeks was them telling me that, ‘You can’t enter. Sorry for your loss,’” Alberto said. “That’s a crazy thing to say after two weeks of not saying anything.”

Alberto did not have renter’s insurance, so he requested RPM Living’s liability insurance provider contact, confirmation about whether the fire was caused by a third-party technician, an answer to why he is barred from entering his apartment when he was previously allowed in, written proof of the structural integrity of his apartment, and confirmation about whether management would provide a statement or itemized loss verification for his insurance.

In an initial report of damage to the apartments, Alberto’s apartment was listed with minor damage, he said.

Emily McMullan, another resident of Building 1 who received the first letter, said she’s been enraged with the communication from management. Their communication has been generic and emotionless, she said. On July 23, she filed a writ of retrieval, which was initially approved, McMullan said. A few hours later, the judge called her to rescind it, with The Cooper attorney on the line. The lawyer didn’t answer any of her questions about her unit, she said.

“Their attorney was very rude, very condescending, and was just talking over me,” she said.

McMullan doesn’t trust anything the management says, she said.

Christina Engel, another resident of Building 1, left behind items from her sons, who are both in the military, she told the Star-Telegram. She had renter’s insurance, but she’s missing their childhood stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments, and a scarf her son brought back for her from Bahrain.

“Because they’re in the military, if I lost them, and I’ve lost this, I’d have nothing,” Engel said, holding back tears.

McMullan said that the past five weeks have been the most traumatic experience of her life. She had no idea that she would never see her belongings again.

“How do you prepare to leave? What do you take with you if that’s going to be the last time you’re seeing any of your stuff?” McMullan said.

Building 2 residents move out

Residents of Building 2 have been in the process of moving out their apartments. After choosing a time slot, residents were given four hours to pack their belongings and move out.

Lauren Garcia, a resident of Building 2 who spearheaded protests and a town hall with The Cooper residents, said she is moving out on Friday, Aug. 8, with the help of her friends.

“The fact that they [RPM Living] think a four-hour window to move out is OK is absolutely insane,” Garcia said.

The Cooper is not offering assistance, such as providing movers, Garcia said. Many Building 2 residents who shared their experiences in a Facebook group said they are moving out alone.

Outside of refunding security deposits and June’s prorated rent, The Cooper has not offered any kind of financial support to residents, the tenants said.

Garcia is lucky to have her friends helping her move out, she said. She did not know what would happen to her belongings if she didn’t move out within her allotted four hours.

Once she has moved out, though, it doesn’t stop there, Garcia said. “I know Building 1, I’m going to fight for them just as hard as I’ve been fighting and trying to voice my concern and care for everyone else that was involved in The Cooper fire.”

The Cooper residents want accountability

Many Building 1 residents said they were still awaiting information and reports specific to the state of their units.

Kara Scott, a resident of Building 1 who received the email about cleaning her contaminated belongings, said she just wants to move on.

“I have a lot of other stuff going on in my life, and this is just always something that’s in the back of my mind,” Scott said. “Will I get an email today that will make me upset, or am I going to be able to move forward ever?”

Phillip Kurtzweil, a resident of Building 1, said that those in charge have been insulated by frontline management staff and cannot be held accountable.

“I only have what they communicate, so the people who are making the decisions that are affecting people’s lives are not accessible to hold accountable directly,” Kurtzweil said.

More than 800 residents were displaced by the fire. So far, 49 tenants have signed on as plaintiffs to the lawsuit that was filed this week alleging that an unqualified electrician was allowed to perform unsupervised work on an HVAC unit and a breaker, sparking the fire. Lightbulb Capital Group, the owner of The Cooper; Cushman and Wakefield, the initial management company; and RPM Living are among those who need to be held accountable, Garcia said. The tenants also are suing electrical contractor Cano Electric along with the company’s owner and the electrician who performed the work.

“How they treated us residents is absolutely inhumane, and it’s wrong,” Garcia said.

McMullan and Engel are among the residents who are suing. McMullan said she hopes that other apartment complexes and property management can learn something from this situation, and Engel said that the residents aren’t going away.

“We’ll find a way to keep bringing it back up,” Engel said.

A spokesperson for The Cooper said, “We are reviewing the allegations in the lawsuit and are unable to comment.”

Staff writer Fousia Abdullahi contributed to this report.