Ten months after a fire tore through an apartment building at the Timber Top apartment complex, crews have begun demolishing the building.
At the time of the fire, News 5 previously reported 19 of the building's 26 apartments were occupied, and fire investigators confirmed every person was accounted for that night and no injuries were reported.
Former Building 24 resident Michelle Ramos captured the moment her unit was demolished but admits it's not necessarily a memory she wants to cherish.
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"It’s bittersweet," she said.
Ramos and her 10-year-old daughter were not home at the time of the fire but told News 5 the fire did steal more than just stuff.
"My home, ultrasound pictures, things with my daughter being born, no money is ever going to replace them, we lost everything," she said.
Inside her replacement apartment filled with thrift store purchases and donations, Ramos laments that she agreed to the apartment complex’s renters' insurance offered to her, which she said covered the building but not her stuff inside.
She said she no longer has to worry about people sneaking in and rummaging through her old unit.
But she wants to take this moment to figure out what’s next, whether finding an attorney to file a class action lawsuit or further mobilizing the tenants.
"We don’t want it to happen to anybody else," she said. "It’s not about a lawsuit to get money. I lost everything and there’s things no amount of money is ever going to replace. It can’t happen to other people."
Colton Reed oversees the newly formed tenants' association. Reed told News 5 that the association just received paperwork from the state last month and has nearly 100 members.
Reed said the most significant need is a change in support from the property management, and this demolition is the perfect opportunity.
"I’d love to see something done with building 24’s empty lot," he said. "I don’t want to see a building. I want to see a playground, stuff set up for the kids to learn and grow, and stuff to build each other up and show the management cares."
News 5 briefly spoke with the property manager at Timber Top, who AIY Properties employs. She told News 5 they’re not sure what will happen to the space where Building 24 once stood, with their first step being finishing up demolition.
