LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A family of four has learned their apartment is being condemned after their building was severely damaged in Tuesday’s deadly explosion at the Givaudan Sense Colour factory.
Craig Wilson and Shelby Dix live with their two children at an apartment complex located at 1907 Payne Street, which is just feet from the factory. The couple learned their building had been deemed uninhabitable by the city the day after the blast.
“They told us to grab as much as we can, which it’s kind of hard when you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck to get a U-Haul to move all your stuff out,” Dix said.
Wilson was lying in bed Tuesday afternoon when the debris from the explosion hit the roof of his apartment, causing the ceiling to cave in right on top of him.
“It happened really fast,” Wilson said. “I look out the window and I look up and the ceiling ends up caving in on me.”
Pieces of the factory, including one massive piece of debris nearly as tall as the entire building, had been launched into the apartments, blowing out windows and piercing through walls.
Wilson recorded the moments after the blast when a power line fell onto nearby cars, instantly setting them on fire.
“The fence on the neighbor’s house is destroyed, the downstairs neighbors, the whole apartment is just destroyed, all of our cars are just destroyed,” Wilson said.
The couple says after initially offering to help find them another apartment, their landlord now tells them they can only move into another property owned by the company if they restart the application process and pay increased rent for a new unit.
“They’re basically saying that we’re going to have to jump through all the hoops again,” Dix said. “You’re going to have to do another credit check, you’re going to have to do all this, that and the third when you just told me the first day that you had a place for me.”
WAVE called Property Management of Louisville, the company that rents out the property.
When asked what the company is doing to help relocate tenants, a spokesperson said the company is “handling the situation internally” and that they weren’t going to comment further.
With their lives turned upside down in an instant, Dix and Wilson are now figuring out their next steps. The couple has started a GoFundMe to help pay for moving expenses and find a new place to stay.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do right now,” Dix said. “I have nowhere to go. Luckily, I’m staying with my mom on her couch right now but that’s nothing for a family of four.”
Editor’s note: WAVE News makes no representations or warranties of any kind about the authenticity, accuracy, or reliability of any GoFundMe campaign. Any donations you make to such campaigns are strictly at your own risk. If you have any questions related to the authenticity, accuracy, or reliability of a GoFundMe campaign, please contact GoFundMe directly or consult the GoFundMe Guarantee Policy.
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