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Pets still missing, hundreds remain displaced after fire at Fort Worth's Cooper Apartments - CBS Texas

Published 11 hours ago3 minute read

/ CBS Texas

Pets missing, hundreds remain displaced after Fort Worth apartment fire

Pets missing, hundreds remain displaced after Fort Worth apartment fire 02:10

Hundreds of people can't get into their apartments three days after a massive, six-alarm fire tore through a Fort Worth apartment complex. It displaced 834 people at the Cooper Apartment complex along West Rosedale Street.

Hundreds of people who lived in building one still can't get their belongings. Fort Worth Fire spokesperson Craig Trojacek said a few units reported having pets, and crews have not been able to get into those apartments because the fifth floor collapsed to the second floor in part of building one.

The sounds of construction crews cleaning up a mess and the sight of a damaged building lined the street Thursday, where hundreds of people used to call home.

Khelsie Hodges is one of the many residents who are now staying with family or friends.

"It's been very traumatic the last three days. It's been a lot of asking questions, sending emails, and just trying to figure out what our next steps will be," Hodges said.

Hodges lived in building one, which has the most damage.

"It is very frustrating. It is very emotional," Hodges said. "It's a lot of what-ifs right now. I've been dealing with an apartment locator because they sent us an email letting us know that we are out of our lease now in building one."

Sladon Smith stopped by the apartments on Thursday to see if he could get his belongings. Crews told him he still can't go inside his apartment.

"All of my stuff is in there. I went to Target to buy clothes. These pants that I'm wearing are the same ones that I've been wearing since Monday. Luckily, I got my dog out. I don't have my wallet. I don't have my laptop," Smith said.

Smith also lived in building one and showed CBS News Texas an e-mail from the management company.

"They said there's further inspection for building one. They're not letting anybody into early next week just because of the infrastructure question," Smith said.

Brian Schmidt came to Cooper Apartments on Thursday to see if he could get his son's belongings.

"The frustrating part is just the lack of information," Schmidt said.

Schmidt has two sons who lived at the apartments. They lived in two separate units in building two. The father got some suits for his son, who's a master's student at Texas Christian University.

"You can't plan for something like this. There's not a playbook for it," Schmidt said. "I'd say he's a grinder. He's pretty resilient. He's still going to his classes and texting us to try to get what we can. We hope to know more soon, as far as when we can move out."

The Fort Worth Fire Department ruled the fire accidental and said it was caused by an electrical issue.

The management company is hosting a donation and essentials distribution event at Cooper Apartment's parking garage, near the mail center, on Friday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The team will be on site distributing donated clothes, toiletries, and other essential items at no cost to residents.

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