{"id":111424,"date":"2025-08-01T22:47:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111424\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T22:47:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:47:15","slug":"some-cooper-tenants-told-mold-health-hazards-mean-belongings-will-be-tossed-following-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111424\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Cooper tenants told mold, health hazards mean belongings will be tossed following fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost six weeks after a six-alarm fire at The Cooper<\/a> apartment complex in Fort Worth displaced more than 800 tenants, details are emerging about whether they can reconnect with belongings left in the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For some residents, the answer isn\u2019t what they expected \u2014 or wanted to hear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gage McGraw, a 22-year-old doctoral student at Texas Christian University, said he received notice from The Cooper\u2019s property management company on the night of July 31 that he will not be allowed to retrieve his belongings from the apartment unit he occupied for about a month before the fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will remove and dispose of the remains of your personal property because it causes a health and safety hazard,\u201d the letter read, according to a copy reviewed by the Fort Worth Report. \u201cWe are very sorry for your loss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letter explained that The Cooper could not allow McGraw access to retrieve his belongings because of several factors, including because the building is not structurally safe, because his apartment and personal property were \u201ccompletely destroyed\u201d and because of mold. It said the apartment and McGraw\u2019s belongings are contaminated by toxic mold that would require a specialist to contain, remove or remediate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch activities are unfortunately not feasible in your apartment due to the extensive fire damage to the building,\u201d according to the letter.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for RPM Living, The Cooper\u2019s property management company, did not return a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGraw said he was \u201ccompletely caught off guard\u201d by the letter, as his unit, No. 1322, was one of about 100 earlier deemed safe to enter temporarily to retrieve belongings, according to a June 27 structural report by DGA Consulting Engineers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report labeled about two dozen units as having \u201cmajor structural damage and should not be accessed\u201d and more than 100 as \u201ccan be accessed and remain occupied.\u201d More than 20 units had locked doors and could not be accessed by engineers, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGraw said Fort Worth firefighters helped him retrieve essential items<\/a>, such as clothing and toiletries, in late June.<\/p>\n

Since then, McGraw said, he hadn\u2019t received any communication from The Cooper\u2019s management company about his personal belongings until July 31. The Cooper was managed by Cushman & Wakefield before and shortly after the fire but has since been taken over by RPM Living.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Former residents of The Cooper and other supporters protest in the property\u2019s parking garage July 7, 2025, in Fort Worth. Residents said they were demanding answers from The Cooper\u2019s then-property management company, Cushman & Wakefield, after two weeks of what they described as \u201cradio silence.\u201d (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n

Throughout July, displaced tenants protested at The Cooper and its sister properties in Fort Worth, demanding answers about the state of the apartments\u2019 two buildings, their personal belongings and what they called misleading information about insurance coverage<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole situation is just very, it\u2019s inhumane. It\u2019s morally wrong to have us sit out here for a month and a half and have to try and fight for our own belongings,\u201d McGraw said. \u201cThat speaks volumes about the character of the people who are in charge of this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGraw said he woke up at 6 a.m. Aug. 1 and drove from Houston, where he is staying with family, to demand answers in person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By noon, he and a handful of other residents stood outside The Cooper while a line of tenants in cars trailed down the street. Workers allowed some tenants to drive inside the property\u2019s parking garage but declined to comment to the Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Former tenants of The Cooper, Gage McGraw, center, and Harriet Asare, right, speak with workers at the apartment complex Aug. 1, 2025. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

Standing outside, Harriet Asare, 35, said she lived at The Cooper for about 17 months in unit 1335, one of the apartments structural engineers said were safe to access and occupy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also received an email from RPM Living the night of July 31. However, her letter noted that property management is still determining whether it is safe to reenter the building and whether any of her belongings are retrievable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It said \u201cthe building and your personal property are almost certainly contaminated by hazardous substances which are not safe for humans or animals (including, without limitation, cancer-causing compounds, smoke, debris and mold caused by fire fighting water damage),\u201d according to a copy of the letter reviewed by the Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asare said she remains hopeful that she\u2019ll be able to get her belongings, as she\u2019s used up all her emergency funds finding new housing and replacing essential items. If The Cooper doesn\u2019t allow her into the unit, she wants the company to take accountability for the fire and provide help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have put us in this inconvenience,\u201d Asare said. \u201cSo what are they gonna do to compensate us for all this trouble? It looks like they\u2019re not ready to do anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cooper released tenants from leases and refunded prorated rent and security deposits, company officials have said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asare, who was staying with a friend during the aftermath of the fire, said she signed a lease at a new apartment complex July 31. She\u2019s moving her life forward, but sentimental belongings, such as souvenirs from a recent trip to her home country of Ghana, remain left behind at The Cooper, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGraw said he wants the personal items that are important to this chapter of his life: handwritten notes to and from his girlfriend, his extensive vinyl record collection and a developing fashion wardrobe.<\/p>\n

For McGraw, hope is sparse after not getting answers on Friday. He was planning to drive back to Houston that night, unsure what to do next.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

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