Nearly a week after a fire destroyed 20 apartments at Miller Crest in Johnson City, the people who used to live in those apartments are still trying to pick up the pieces. Despite a massive outpouring of support from the community, JC Assistant Fire Marshal Lori Ratliff says moving forward will be more difficult for some of the victims.
"The community always pulls together and seems to help and they do a great job of pulling together for resources for the moment, but it seems like long-term, these people really suffer when they don't have insurance," Ratliff said.
Of the 20 units destroyed by last Wednesday's fire, Ratliff says less than half were covered by renters' insurance. It's something she says she sees too often at fire scenes.
"We see this quite a bit," Ratliff said.
C. R. Gregory Insurance President Charles Gregory agrees with Ratliff. He says too few people take advantage of the safeguard.
"We see a tremendous amount of people that don't have renters' insurance," Gregory said. "They just feel like they don't need it."
According to Gregory, for just a little more than $10 a month, a renter can insure their apartment. Since a basic renters' insurance policy costs around $100 a year, in his eyes, it's a small price to pay for some piece of mind.
"It covers your contents, your personal belongings," Gregory said. "It covers liability for anything you're found negligent to have caused an accident or a fire."
In hindsight, Pam Deakins wishes she'd insured her daughter's Miller Crest apartment. Deakins visited the scene of the fire Tuesday to take another look at the destruction.
"She's pretty devastated," Deakins said of her daughter. "She lost everything that she had. When I was first married, we had renters' insurance and I don't know why we never thought of it."
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