ROANOKE COUNTY, Va – ”I heard people yelling, ‘fire!’ I ran to my front door, opened it and got hit with a wall of smoke,” Cassondra Ratliff said.
When Cassondra Ratliff’s building at the Peters Creek Apartment complex caught fire, she grabbed her two kids and ran as fast as she could.
“How do you even begin to process or prepare yourself for this kind of thing when it’s been three weeks?” Ratliff said.
It’s been three weeks since that night, and Ratliff tells 10 News she’s left with more questions than answers from apartment managers.
“Talk to me about what frustrations you’re having, and where they’re coming from,” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman said.
“The biggest one is just not knowing anything. They’re not giving us any updates, they’re not letting us into our apartments to get our belongings. I go every day, every other day depending on my kids just to see where we’re at, if there’s anything new, if there are any changes. But they didn’t want to give me any answers. It was all tight-lipped,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff and other residents we’ve spoken with have gone straight to the top for answers - Grady Management President Brian Alford.
“Did you ever get a response from him?” Coleman asked.
“No,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff’s main concern is that until now, she hasn’t been able to see her apartment.
But Brian Clingenpeel with Roanoke County Fire says:
“I can tell you our fire marshals released the building a few weeks ago, it was a few days after the fire.”
Ratliff hadn’t heard from property management at all - until Coleman emailed Alford.
“They called me yesterday and said that they are going to let us in for two hours, and while we are in there, someone from the staff will be watching us from the door,” Ratliff said.
We asked Alford why residents weren’t being allowed back in and he says several inspections were taking place over the last three weeks, including by insurance adjusters.
We told this to Ratliff, who says this hasn’t been the case at all, and that she’s bounced from the complex to the county to the fire marshals in a search for answers.
“They don’t care. None of the management cares that they have 12 residents that are without a home,” she said.
For now, Ratliff is taking things one step at a time - focusing on how to get her belongings out in that two-hour window.
“I definitely think they need to step up their game on how they respond to situations,” she said.
Alford’s full statement can be found below:
Thank you for reaching out. Please know we are deeply saddened by this event and definitely by the loss of life due to the fire.
The team members at Peters Creek have been in contact with our displaced residents consistently since the night of the fire, including coordination of Red Cross Services. As information has continued to become available from all parties, it has been communicated. While the Fire Department did turn the structure back over to us, the Insurance Carrier had to perform its due diligence resulting in separate inspections from their adjuster, a 3rd party fire investigator, subrogation adjuster and structural engineer. On October 8th, the Insurance Carrier confirmed that displaced residents in the non-burn units may begin to schedule times to enter the units with an escort from Property Management. All impacted residents were contacted by Property Management and have scheduled times to be escorted to collect personal belongings. As of 6pm yesterday, 4 of the 6 residents in the non-burn units have scheduled times for Wednesday and Thursday respectively. One resident could not be reached today and another indicated they are unable to come until Saturday. The Saturday request has been scheduled.
Regarding Renters Insurance, it is strongly recommended that all residents carry coverage but is not mandated. This is further described in detail in the Renters Insurance Addendum signed by residents. The Property Liability Policy covers structure only and doesn’t cover the contents of an individual apartment home.
Again, we are deeply saddened by this event, the safety of our residents and staff is of the utmost importance. The patience and understanding of our residents is greatly appreciated during this difficult time for all parties.
Brian Alford, Grady Management, Inc. President
A GoFundMe for Ratliff and her children can be found here.