Forest City woman claims ‘slumlord’ to blame for mobile home fire; pets, belongings lost

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    FOREST CITY, North Carolina (WLOS) — A Forest City woman claims her landlord is liable for a mobile home fire that claimed all her belongings and several pets.

Kathy Campbell is now homeless, left with nothing much other than her car after a fire on Thursday, Jan. 27, tore through her Meadowbrook Village mobile home.

“This was my living room into there was my kitchen,” Campbell said, showing the damage. “I feel like everything has been [taken] away from me.”

Campbell has lived at the mobile home community off Hudlow Road for five years.

Four of her dogs and five parakeets were killed in the fire.

“My babies were not replaceable,” Campbell said, with a tear rolling down her cheek. “They were buried right over here; our friend buried them for us.” The cause of the fire was likely a space heater — but the blame lies with her landlord, she said.

“For the past two years, the roof has leaked, our stove never worked — we reported it,” Campbell said. “The furnace went out and I asked about getting the furnace fixed.”

Campbell said her landlord refused to make repairs.

“Slumlord,” she referred to him. “You’re making money off of each and every tenant in each one of your trailer parks, your houses, whatever you own and you’re not putting that money back into taking care of the tenants.” Campbell isn’t alone in her claims. Several other residents in the community have similar stories. From gaping holes in the floorboards to puddles on the property reeking of sewage.

100-YEAR-OLD HOME DESTROYED BY FIRE, NO INJURIES REPORTED

Virginia Moore, a Meadowbrook Village resident for two years, said she doesn’t currently have running water, and she has been going to her neighbor’s home to bathe and use the bathroom.

According to the North Carolina Secretary of State, the mobile community is owned by Meadowbrook Village of Forest City, LLC.

The managers of the LLC are listed as Diane W. Griffin and James W. Griffin.

Residents identified James, who goes by Jim, as their landlord. News 13’s Hannah Mackenzie called Griffin. He declined an on-camera interview and did not want to provide a statement.

According to Campbell, her rent was $500 a month, but she stopped paying pending repairs. She said Griffin requested she apply for aid through the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) program. She said on her behalf, Griffin received two payments in the amount of $2,800 and $4,800 from the HOPE program.

“He didn’t use any of that to try to fix the problem,” Campbell said.

Currently, Campbell is staying with a friend. She said she is speaking out in hopes of preventing a similar situation from happening to one of her neighbors.

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