Residents displaced by a weekend fire at a Detroit apartment complex are frustrated they still haven’t received help.
"We feel as though management tried to try, but they didn't do enough," Rolando Millender said.
Millender's apartment was one of dozens that suffered bad water damage after a fire early Sunday morning at the St. Antoine Gardens apartments off Chrysler in Midtown. Neighbors say the fire was sparked when a tenant on the eighth floor rubbed alcohol on himself to keep the bedbugs away and then lit a cigarette, accidentally igniting himself and the building on fire. He is recovering in the hospital.
Meanwhile, many of the residents have been unable to cook and some unable to take showers in their units, which suffered heavy water damage. A restoration company has been on site since Sunday and removed carpeting and drywall and placed dehumidifiers in the units to air them out.
Tenants unable to sleep in their apartments slept on cots provided in the community room, where Millender said he caught a bedbug.
"Bedbugs was the initial cause of this, because someone tried to kill the bedbugs with alcohol and ended up igniting himself. Then they put us in a community room in a building that has a bedbug problem," he said.
"I’m fearful of my health. And not having the assistance to get out of these living conditions is very scary," Phyllis Kuhn said.
Residents told 7 Action News management officials haven’t been responsive until the city got involved Thursday. A city inspector found 25 to 30 of the units uninhabitable. Detroit's Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department issued a correction order to ensure everything is properly fixed.
St. Antoine Gardens is a Section 8 housing facility managed by Cleveland-based Millennia Housing Management.
Management officials told 7 Action News they are focusing on restoring four units deemed uninhabitable and are working to clean up the rest as soon as possible. In the meantime, they said they are working with the Red Cross and other agencies to find temporary housing for displaced residents.
