Health Officials Investigate Mold Problem In Apartment

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Health Officials Investigate Mold Problem In Apartment

Apartment Managers Refuse To Speak With NewsChannel5

POSTED: 5:22 p.m. EDT May 1, 2003

AKRON, Ohio -- Health officials spent part of Thursday investigating whether a severe mold problem at an Akron apartment complex was being taken care of.

NewsChannel5's s reported that officials have been flooded with phone calls after Live On Five Investigator Jodi ' report on Wednesday.

Smelly, wet carpet was tossed in a trash bin after the appalling conditions were exposed. After revealing on Wednesday black mold all over the walls of an empty apartment, NewsChannel5's cameras captured on Tuesday soaking wet floors, mold on the windows and a moldy utility closet. "We received numerous complaints," said Duane Groeger, the acting housing administrator. "We're here to determine the source of the moisture and mold and whatever is causing the moisture."

Ray-Lyn Curry was shown the inside of the apartment Wednesday, and said she's now paying for it.

"The mold is so bad in that apartment that the walls aren't white," she said. "They're black -- top to bottom. When I woke up, I couldn't talk. (I) had a sore throat. (I) couldn't breathe (and was) coughing up blood in the shower."

Curry lives in the apartment across the hall with her two small children. She said mold is a problem in her place too. In fact, she said it's been a problem for months, and she claimed it's making her children sick.

View Moldy Apartment

"My children have running nose, serious respiratory problems," she said.

NewsChannel5 tried to speak with the managers inside the rental office but were kicked out.

When s asked for the number of the corporate offices or attorney, she was again shown the door.

The Summit County Health Department said it is in the midst of the investigation and will talk to each neighbor who called to complain.

Curry said her lease is up in two months and that she will be moving.

Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the mold and will make a decision on whether the building should be condemned.

Previous Story:

April 30, 2003: Mold Overtakes Apartment; Building May Be Condemned

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