Willows' tenants meet management

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - "I think people's emotions were high, I think there are definitely some angry people still in there."

Paul Ueber describes the private meeting at the Willows of Coventry Monday night. It was closed to the media.

But even from outside, the scene was telling. Dozens of tenants huddled around, waiting for answers. Ueber stuck around for two hours, but walked out without many answers.

"They let us ask questions, but they really were kind of dodgy about their answers," says Ueber. "They (tenants) just wanted more straightforward answers than they were given."

Instead, tenants got a safety lesson.

"Basic fire information like not leaving things plugged in, watching things when you're cooking."

The reason: a history with fire. Tenants have seen three within a span of four months. In November, a tenant accidentally started the blaze by leaving something cooking on the stove. That sparked a grease fire. Just a month before that, in October, another fire, caused by a cigarette or another type of smoking material. Friday's fire left three people hurt, which turned fatal Monday when one of those victims died of smoke inhalation. The cause is still unknown. While management waits for an official cause, Ueber - like many others - has just one question in mind.

"The question I think everyone wanted answered was if they find a defect in that building, what are they going to do about our leases if we want to get out of here? And he wouldn't answer that. He wouldn't answer anything until the investigation was complete."

News Channel 15 did find out, the complex does not meet current fire safety standards. However, it doesn't have to.

The Willows of Coventry building went up in 1987. At that time, the building code was very different than today's.

Allen County Building Commissioner Dave Fuller says state laws require a building meet the code in place at the time of construction. But it does not mandate property owners keep up with new codes.