Atlanta

‘I’m down and out:’ Woman battling cancer loses apartment, all her belongings in fire

ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta woman battling an aggressive cancer has now lost everything in an apartment fire.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was outside the apartment complex, where Danielle Moye lost everything down to her parents ashes when a fire ripped through the 251 North Apartment homes close to Ponce De Leon Ave. a few days after Thanksgiving.

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Moye was at work when she got a phone call saying that her unit was on fire. Some of the things that she lost are irreplaceable.

Moye had renter’s insurance, but since a new company bought the complex recently, she’s having a hard time filing a claim.

On top of that, she’s battling acute leukemia and Graft v. Host Disease, which causes inflammation to the organs.

“It’s been difficult. It’s hard for me to work really right now,” Moye said. “I’m challenged through a plethora of things with my memory after chemo, intense chemo, radiation, spinal taps.”

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At first, she wasn’t worried about getting back on her feet, because she’s been paying for renter’s insurance all year. But when she went to file a claim, she ran into an issue.

Moye said because a new company bought her apartment complex about a week before the fire, she’s run into some red tape.

“If (the renter’s insurance) is already paid for, why are you not helping?” Moye said. “I understand there’s new management. I’m clear on that, but it should’ve transitioned over and they’re saying it doesn’t transition over.

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Fernandes talked to someone from the company that owns the complex on the phone and they said they have no comment.

But as Moye walks through her complex for the last time, hoping to grab anything salvageable from the fire, she’s worried about her future.

“I’m down and out,” Moye said. “I really am. This is Ground Zero for me.”

The fire is still under investigation and Moye wonders if the constant smell of gas at the complex had anything to do with it. Fernandes has been working to learn the official cause of the fire.

Moye’s family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help her get back on her feet.

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