JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Over 30 residents displaced from an apartment fire on Jacksonville’s Westside are frustrated because they have nowhere to go.
RELATED: Video shows fire damage at Westside apartment complex that displaced 34 people
Erika Jackson said she is feeling hopeless after what she was offered isn’t better than where she’s living.
“It’s not even a stove, it’s not a refrigerator,” Jackson said. It’s really bad. It’s unlivable. The doors are off the hinges. The water is tap, water is disgusting. It’s nuts. Smells like eggs and fish and kind of stuff. I wouldn’t suggest anybody live here. I regret every minute.”
Jackson said her insurance said that they can’t help unless the property cooperates.
“They say false information, saying that I don’t pay my rent and I paid my rent on time,” Jackson said.
Other residents who opted not to go on camera echoed what Jackson said about insurance and they’ve only received the bare minimum from the complex.
While residents claim the complex took care of their needs for two days, by the time they went back to start clearing things, the locks were changed.
“Someone broke in here and took all my TVs, everything,” the resident said. “I’m waiting for the cops to come right now, because they changed the locks. Now I’ve been sleeping in my car since the fire, and I let my daughter and my grandbaby go stay at a hotel until we figure out what’s going to happen.”
I went to the leasing office to try and get some of these concerns clarified, but they declined to comment.
“Why are they locking everybody’s doors, changing everybody’s locks when we have a certain amount of time to get our stuff out and then they’re rushing me to get all my things out. All this stuff happened to me and I don’t have no help,” Jackson said.
We reached out to the leasing company and owner of the complex and got no response.
Click here to help Jackson and her family recover.
