WINDERMERE, Fla. — About a dozen families at Buena Vista Place Apartments are racing against the clock after learning they have until 6 p.m. Tuesday to move out following a fire that damaged their homes.
Residents said they were notified Monday morning that they had roughly 36 hours to clear out their belongings after Sunday’s fire tore through the roof of the apartment complex.
Officials believe lightning likely sparked the blaze, which damaged about a dozen apartments.
Throughout Monday, families loaded furniture, clothing and other belongings into vehicles as rain poured through holes left in the roof.
“We lost everything — our personal stuff, food,” resident Lizelba Garcia said. “We’re losing money by not being able to work.”
Garcia and her husband, Nelson Padilla, said they have lived at the complex for more than 13 years. They spent the day packing whatever they could salvage from their apartment, making trips to a storage facility next door.
Other residents said the short timeline has made an already difficult situation even more stressful.
“It’s very stressful,” resident Shawna Alvarado said. “I won’t be able to get my stuff out in 24 hours. I don’t have the help. It’s just me and my daughter.”
Alvarado said she has renters’ insurance and has started filing a claim. But many residents like Garcia and Padilla said they do not have coverage.
“We have to do everything ourselves,” Padilla said. “We have to look for a place to stay, we have to look for a place for our stuff, our storage.”
Insurance experts say many renters don’t realize landlords are generally not required to provide hotels or temporary housing when a natural disaster, such as a lightning strike, makes an apartment uninhabitable.
Frank de la Grana with LRA Insurance said renters insurance can help cover temporary housing costs through “loss of use” or “additional living expenses” coverage.
“It can really be a big savior for a lot of people,” de la Grana said.
Residents say the American Red Cross has provided each affected household with $600 in emergency assistance.
Residents say they are grateful for the help but are asking the apartment complex for more time to move out, saying the deadline is too short given the damage and the challenges of finding new housing.
Channel 9 reached out to the apartment complex for comment and was told a response from the corporate office is expected.
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