Multiple tenants remain displaced 1 week after Cocoa apartment complex fire

Some struggling with no sign of finding new home

COCOA, Fla. – Nearly two dozen people remain displaced a week after a fire at the Village Green Apartments. 

For some, the time away from home has been miserable.

"Angry, but ain't nothing you can do about it," said Bill Wheatley, talking to News 6 about living at the Budget Inn on State Road 520.

Wheatley and Janet Simmons, who cares for him, have been at the Cocoa motel since last Wednesday when the fire started.

The thick smoke destroyed the Air Force veteran's apartment, his home of four years.

"The smoke was so bad when we were coming out," said Wheatley.  "Everything is ruined."

Without a home, Wheatley says by Friday of last week he spent the $480 the Red Cross gave him.

He says he used the money to pay for the motel room, food and cab rides.

He's now getting by with his own money - something he says he can't afford much longer.

"He only gets a thousand a month from the VA and Social Security," said Simmons.

Nathaniel Shorter, another displaced tenant is also staying at the Budget Inn.

But unlike Wheatley, Shorter says he's doing a lot better.

He says his renter's insurance is covering displacement costs and says Village Greene is putting him in another apartment.

Wheatley would like the company to do the same for him.

"We're having trouble trying to find apartments. There's no vacancies. I've been using the phone book, calling apartments and calling apartments where I used to live at. They're all filled," said Wheatley.


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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