‘She lost everything’ Residents sifting through damage after Morristown apartment fire

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WATE) — In the days following an apartment fire in Morristown , residents are working on salvaging what's left of their belongings.

The cause of the fire is still unknown as the city of Morristown Fire Department investigates further this week.

"At this time, we are still in the investigation phase of it. We be up here before long doing a dig out to determine the cause of the fire," said Fire Department Logistics Officer Danny Case.

The community is gathering to do all they can to help the residents pick up and resume to normalcy.

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"The community here is stepping up. They are contacting the fire department and the Red Cross and other places that are donating clothes and furniture to the residents and trying to find them a place to live," explained Case.

Many residents are still grieving the loss of their homes and are left with no where to go. Residents have been sleeping in cars, tents, and staying at loved ones places until they find somewhere permanent.

The residents are now looking for answers about the fire and how it started.

"We don't have anywhere to go you know. I'm going couch to couch. I'm sleeping in my car. We just want answers, we just want to settle, we just want a home again. Its stressing me out. Its stressing me out to the max and if I can get some answers and clarity and get some stuff set in motion, I'd feel a lot better. But I'm still going to have that hurt deep inside our souls hurt. Luckily nobody got hurt inside but our souls did." said Megan Purkey, a resident of the apartment.

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Residents continue to sift through the damage although not much is salvageable. Many residents are facing lots of water damage to personal items if not worse. One of the residents daughter, Brittany Dockery, explained how her mom lost everything to the fire and now must start over.

"Her sprinkler system wasn't even working. She's lost everything. Really honestly nothing's salvageable because there's water that's all the way up. All this soot. She's had to wait for days. We've had to wait for days, we have to wait till he lets us in. And where do we go from here – we don't know," said Dockery.