Cooper residents ask for court injunction to preserve cherished possessions
Nearly two months after the six-alarm fire that displaced more than 800 residents of The Cooper apartments near downtown Fort Worth, some tenants still don’t know when or if they will be able to retrieve cherished possessions.
Multiple residents who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit testified at a hearing Tuesday and asked the court for an injunction to protect their items from being demolished or destroyed. Several of them lived in apartments that were listed in a June 27 structural engineer’s report as being safe for temporary access, according to attorney Katie Steele.
CAMP Facility Services project manager James Miles said a lot has changed since that initial report. The company is in charge of fire remediation at the complex, and Miles said conditions in Building 1, where the fire started on the roof, continue to deteriorate. Eight units collapsed during the blaze, and there’s concern another collapse could occur that would have a domino effect.
“We discovered movement in the building,” Miles said.
Miles has limited the number of workers allowed in Building 1 and instituted a 3,000 pound per floor weight limit. Mold overgrowth is also a serious problem, and workers currently have to use hazmat suits with respirators, he said.
Steele told the court that the June 23 fire changed her clients’ lives forever.
“The loss my clients face is irreparable,” she said.
David Twist, a Delta Airlines pilot, had just returned from a bike ride when he smelled smoke. He wasn’t able to reach anyone in the office, so he called the Fire Department. He exited his apartment at 1:37 p.m. with just his wallet and the clothes on his back.
Twist said he went out for lunch. He assumed he could go home after the fire was out, but when he got back to the complex, the blaze had grown.
“At that point, I never imagined I wouldn’t be able to get back in,” he said.
On June 27, Twist received an email listing the numbers of the apartments no one would be allowed to enter due to safety issues. He was relieved to see his unit wasn’t on the list. The email indicated tenants could retrieve necessary items June 30, and Twist said he was the first person in line that morning.
Among the items on Twist’s list were things he needed for work, including his pilot’s license and passport. But five minutes after he handed his list to a worker in a Cushman and Wakefield polo shirt — the company managing the complex at that time — he was told the firefighters said his apartment was “iffy.” No one could get in to retrieve anything.
Twist was able to get a new passport and other work-related items, but he said several things inside his unit are irreplaceable. He needs his medical records from the time he spent in the Air Force for future health care, and the photos of his children and two guitars from his late father have tremendous sentimental value.
Twist sent an email to the complex saying he didn’t need his belongings right away, but he would like to get them out in the future. He asked they not be destroyed. He never heard back until July 31, when he received an email saying his things were a total loss and would be discarded. Twist said he’s sure the fire didn’t destroy his possessions because of where the blaze was located, and he has hope they are still intact.
Samuel Russell moved into Building 1 on June 9. He was able to get his late mother’s ashes and a few other possessions out during the short window of time tenants were given on June 30, but his U.S. Navy uniforms and several paintings his mother made are still inside.
Russell also received the July 31 email saying the things in his apartment would be taken out for him and destroyed.
“Almost like they were doing me a favor,” Russell said of the email.
Russell said there was no time frame given to dispose of the items. He quickly responded with an email saying he just wanted his uniforms and the things from his mother, but all he got was a ChatGPT response.
He decided to take legal action. “I don’t want someone to die to get my stuff back, but according to the email, my apartment is accessible,” Russell said.
Roger Diseker, the attorney for The Cooper Fort Worth LLC and the property’s owner Lightbulb Capital Group, said the owners are doing their best to save the building so that the tenants can access their possessions in the future.
“My clients haven’t communicated well enough with the tenants,” Diseker said, but added that it wasn’t out of malice but due to the fallout from the fire that they are still dealing with. He likened it to a truck wreck that is still in process.
Closing arguments for and against the injunction are scheduled for Wednesday at 2:15 p.m.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 10:15 PM.
