The Cooper residents finally given access to their belongings 7 months after fire

FORT WORTH, Texas - Residents displaced by a massive fire at a Fort Worth apartment complex in June are finally being allowed to retrieve all of their belongings.

Cooper Apartments Fire

What we know:

When hundreds of residents evacuated their apartments for a six-alarm fire on June 23, they never could have imagined the long battle that was ahead.

FOX 4 first spoke with Eliseo Acevedo just three days after the fire. The Cooper briefly allowed him into his undamaged apartment to retrieve his father’s ashes.

"A little hope now that we grabbed some of our stuff, have an idea of how our apartment is," he told FOX 4 in June.

But after that day, the apartment management, RPM Living, refused to allow him and hundreds of other residents with undamaged units to go back in, at times citing safety concerns.

One month after the fire, a resident took matters into her own hands, running past security and then dropping her belongings over a balcony.

"There is no damage in that unit, the hallway, nothing’s wrong with it. My AC is on. My power is on," Gretchen Rea said.

In December, RPM Living provided residents with just three boxes worth of belongings, which were collected by a construction company. 

While Acevedo did get some of the things he requested, like photos of his father, his Fossil watch, and his social security card, other valuable items weren’t recovered. A worker reported that they ran out of time to complete the list.

He refused to give up on getting the rest of his belongings and his furniture.

This week, RPM Living allowed him to pay an approved mover $1,800 to retrieve everything.

"Speaking with the movers, they said your apartment was fine. There’s nothing wrong with your apartment at all," Acevedo said.

What they're saying:

Acevedo said it is infuriating that after the fire in June, he had to wait until February to get his things.

"I would have liked to have my jackets, especially during the storm," he said.

Residents said the fact that they are being allowed to retrieve their belongings now also raises questions about the reasons their possessions were held hostage in the first place.

"It’s been back and forth with it’s too dangerous inside to there’s mold. Now, nope there is nothing wrong with your apartment," Acevedo said. "I feel bad for the people who do have mold because maybe it wasn’t as bad the first couple of weeks."

The other side:

FOX 4 reached out to RPM Living about why it waited seven months before allowing residents to retrieve their belongings. Once again, FOX 4 has not heard back.

What's next:

There’s still one thing Acevedo is hoping his attorney will be able to get back – the $1,800 he was forced to pay the movers to retrieve his belongings.

"I had to pay $1,200 for just packing and another $600 for the move. That’s $1,800 out of my pocket. That’s a lot of money for me," he said.

Fort Worth 6-alarm apartment fire

The backstory:

During the fire at the Cooper Apartment building on West Rosedale in Fort Worth, more than 150 firefighters were sent to the scene to battle the blaze.

Due to the construction of the building, it was more difficult than normal to extinguish the fire. Authorities tell us the roof materials, intended to keep water out of the building, did their job so well that it took hours to fully put out the flames.

A total of 834 residents have been displaced following the devastating fire. It’s still unknown how many units were damaged, and the residents are still waiting to find out when they’ll be allowed back into their homes.