A former resident of The Cooper found her old apartment intact months after a fire, but claims valuables are missing and access remains blocked.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Five months after a fire at The Cooper apartment complex, a former resident who scaled the fence to check on her belongings said she found her unit largely undamaged — contradicting claims from apartment ownership.
Christina Engel, who lived at The Cooper, said the scene inside her apartment brought her to tears, but not for the reason property managers told her to expect.
“It brings me to tears because they are telling us everything is damaged,” Engel said.
Cell phone video taken during her unauthorized visit shows her bedroom appearing untouched. The shirt she slept in still sits on her white bedding.
“It’s intact… No smoke, no water damage. There’s no mold,” she said.
Frustrated by months of waiting, Engel admitted to climbing the fence around the closed complex. The apartment building caught fire in June 2025. Since then, many residents have been unable to gain access to their belongings. Many, including Engel and signed onto a lawsuit against the property.
What she discovered raised more questions than answers. While most items appeared undisturbed, several valuables were missing, including a safe containing her gun, passport, birth certificate and car title, along with two laptops.
Adding to her confusion, Engel received an email classifying her unit as a “red unit” due to significant mold contamination. Construction employees will only remove four boxes from her apartment.
“How do I put my life, and my son’s life, in a box. Four boxes?” she said.
Engel’s two adult sons serve in the military — one stationed in Japan, the other in California. She fears losing irreplaceable family mementos.
“God forbid something happens to them, I have nothing. I have nothing,” she said.
Among the items she’s unable to retrieve are yearbooks, photos and her son’s congressional nomination certificate.
“It’s all I have. People say, ‘Well, you can replace the yearbooks,’ but it doesn’t replace any of those memories in there. You can’t reproduce all of those things,” Engel said. “My son’s congressional nomination, I can’t replace it. I can’t replace any of it.”
Engel has not been told when construction employees will retrieve her four boxes or what will happen to everything that doesn’t fit.
A spokesperson for The Cooper did not respond to requests for comment.