Ocala apartment residents still trying to get back to normal after July 1 fire
What should be an exciting time for Alicia Harris and her children — preparing to return to their apartment — is quickly becoming a nightmare all over again.
Harris, a resident at Berkeley Pointe Apartments, formerly Spring Manor, at 2847 NE Seventh St., was forced to leave her residence on July 1 due to a fire that occurred next door. After back-and-forth communicating with apartment officials, Harris and at least one other family displaced by the fire were relocated to hotels so their apartments could be fixed.
During that time, Harris said, mold took over her residence, including the furniture. Apartment officials said it's mildew, not mold.
Harris said she was told by the apartment complex officials that they would move out her furniture as long as she signed a letter authorizing them to do so. But now, she said, they're telling her that they cannot move her furniture after all, and she must find someone to do it.
"I don't have anyone to do it," she said by phone.
Response to Harris' claims
Harris said she spoke with one fellow tenant who told her she was returning to her apartment on Sunday, Aug. 13.
Harris then called management about her apartment. She was told that someone would clean it, get rid of the mildew, and she could get back into her unit on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Harris said she doesn't understand why she had to call management instead of them calling her.
But the furniture issue remains an obstacle. A man affiliated with the apartment complex told a Star-Banner reporter they don't move furniture because it's a liability. He explained that, for instance, if there was money in the apartment and it went missing while they were working inside, then they would be held liable.
The man said they told Harris she could ask a team member at the apartment complex if they could move her furniture.
As for the mold or mildew issue: The man said it's mildew and the apartment complex will take care of it. However, he said they are not obligated to move furniture.
The man said he's not supposed to talk to reporters and he had to go. The Star-Banner's repeated efforts to get an on-the-record interview with apartment management, relayed by phone and email, have been unsuccessful.
At a crossroads
One resident who lived in the apartment where the fire started, Ashley Williams, told a Star-Banner reporter that apartment officials have cleaned her residence. She said she had to sign a paper giving the apartment officials permission to remove the burned items that were inside.
Earlier coverage: Some Berkeley Pointe residents displaced by fire now have hotel accommodations
Williams said she has not been told when she would be able to go back to her apartment.
"They're in the process of doing everything," she said.
In the meantime, the women and their families are staying at hotels, with apartment officials picking up the tab.
Harris has created a gofundme page, https://www.gofundme.com/f/apartment-building-caught-on-fire.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala apartment complex residents still trying to get back home
