MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For many residents of the PepperTree apartments, Tuesday was tough. They lost all they own in a devastating fire and have nowhere else to go.
“We can’t take no more. We don’t bother nobody over here,” said Anderlyn Hunter, who didn’t expect to come home on her birthday to find flames. “I lost everything. Everything!”
At least 11 families lost their apartment due to the fire and flooding that followed. But one of those victims said the fire took something irreplaceable.
Kehjeh Patterson says the ashes of her son were in her apartment that went up in flames.
“The other stuff material. You can easily get that back. I can’t get him back,” Patterson said. “I’ve lost him twice within 11 months.”
She says she kept his clothes, shoes and other important documents and now, it’s all gone.
“All that’s burnt up. I ain’t got nothing,” she said. “You can’t be safe outside or in your house.”
Memphis Fire Department investigators said Tuesday the fire was intentionally set in apartment No. 7. The fire is still under investigation.
Kehjeh Patterson says she feels like she lost her son twice in 11 months. His ashes were lost in the fire. 
“We don’t deserve this,” said Anderlyn Hunter, who said she lost everything she owned on her birthday. 
Two women comfort each other after a fire at a Whitehaven apartment complex Tuesday. 
An apartment after the fire
Today’s fire is just one of the many issues people living at the PepperTree apartments have experienced in recent months.
They say if they weren’t jumping out of a window to escape Tuesday’s fire, they would be dodging bullets.
“We just go our house shot up Thursday, bullet holes and bullets all in our house. Come back and here we go again,” Hunter said.
According to records we requested from Memphis police, since January 1, officers have responded to the apartment more than 142 times.
Many residents now wonder why and how the apartment complex can stay open.
“We don’t deserve this. We don’t deserve this, and they don’t want to do nothing about it,” Hunter said.
The company that owns the property did not respond to a request for comment.
City leaders were asked about the process to issue nuisance paperwork. Officials said it’s a lengthy process especially for apartments when there are families involved.
