AKRON, Ohio — Just before 4:30 Wednesday afternoon, the Akron Fire Department, with assistance from Cuyahoga Falls Fire, responded to a fire at Timber Top Apartments & Townhomes in Akron. According to the apartment’s management group, AIY Properties, 23 of the 26 units in the building were occupied.
According to the Akron Fire Department, the fire was under control by 8:45 p.m., with no injuries. However, residents tell 3News some people were not able to get their pets out.
3News contacted the Akron Fire Department on Thursday for any updates, and were told there were none at this time.
A resident who lived in a bottom unit of the building where the fire occurred and who went by Marian said she was on a work call Wednesday afternoon when she heard a loud noise. She stepped outside to investigate and found her porch furniture on fire.
“When I looked up, the porch above me was on fire,” she said. Marian was able to grab a bag with help from a neighbor and got out. As she was leaving the building, she said she heard another sound like an explosion.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Marian has experienced a situation like this in her lifetime. Before she lived at Timber Top, she experienced another fire.
“I panicked because I’ve been in a house fire before, lost my son,” she said. “I panicked really bad, and I started having flashbacks,” she said.
Now, Marian is angry, and expressed frustration towards the apartments’ management.
“They do nothing to make us feel safe. It became even more of a fear after the lady lost her life here for the carbon monoxide,” she said. “I’ve had problems since I’ve lived here. My apartment has flooded twice.”
Marian said she had also experienced other problems with her apartment in the five years she has lived there, like roaches and mice. Other residents 3News spoke to also voiced their concerns about apartment maintenance, referencing cracks and porches sitting at an angle.
In December, 3News spoke to residents at Timber Top who were without heat for days. In October, apartments at Timber Top were evacuated due to carbon monoxide, and one woman died.
“I have no intention of staying anywhere near Timber Top, I’ve heard too many cases about things out here,” said Brandon Richardson, whose apartment was also in the impacted building, a few doors down from Marian’s.
On Wednesday, Richardson and Marian were able to go back into their units to retrieve some belongings.
“It’s a lot of water damage, there’s glass everywhere, everything’s been shoved around. There’s not really a lot of fire damage in that particular apartment, so that’s kind of nice,” Richardson said. “But for the most part, everything is destroyed, just soaked.”
Richardson, an artist, was preparing for an upcoming art show. His work is stored on his laptop, which he carried out of his apartment Wednesday wet, along with a suitcase of clothes.
"I'm trying very hard not to think about everything that was lost," said Jack Ream, who was retrieving what he could from his apartment Thursday.
3News contacted AIY Properties on Thursday, and asked about residents’ concerns.
“I can understand their frustration, and I know how it may appear, but a lot of these things that are happening haven’t been completely under our control, and then when they do happen, you know, we are working to get them fixed and remedied as quickly as possible,” said Danielle Novak, Managing Director at AIY Properties.
Novak said they are working with the Red Cross to connect impacted residents with resources. On Thursday, three Red Cross representatives were at the leasing office to assist those who needed help.
Novak also said they are working to transfer impacted residents into other available units on the property, or to open units in their sister properties in Akron.
“We’re going to try to help them on their rent here in March and do whatever we can to get them back up and running,” Novak said. She also thanked the fire department for working hours to put out the fire.
“Nobody wants to experience this. I feel pain for all of us, not just for myself,” said Marian. “We all have now got to start over.”