LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two weeks after a factory explosion ruined several homes in the Clifton neighborhood of Louisville, thieves are adding insult to injury.
Tenants living in now-uninhabitable townhomes fewer than 100-feet from the plant say they've been robbed multiple times since the accident.
Meagan Durand and Marty Richards, a newly engaged couple, have lost bikes, jewelry and more. They showed WHAS 11 where burglars broke in through their back door and garage.
"I had some really sentimental items that are gone now, that I won't ever be able to get back. Even money is not going to fix that," Durand told WHAS11 on Tuesday. "You try to have the best faith in people, but in situations like this -- people find an opportunity, they're going to take it."
Givaudan has contracted local firm Jarl Security to patrol the area. One employee told WHAS11 of plans to install cameras and lights by the site of the blast to prevent further theft. WHAS 11 saw those installations happening just before sundown on Tuesday.
Mayor Craig Greenberg toured the hardest hit neighborhoods this week, including the townhomes by the railroad tracks near Frankfort Avenue.
"I met some folks yesterday who have to be out of their homes permanently by Dec. 4 because of the impact of the explosion," Greenberg said at his weekly briefing Tuesday.
That's not a lot of time for tenants like Danny Cox to get everything in his damaged home into storage, and to figure out where they're going to live next.
"I don't really have the choice to be overwhelmed. I can't just lay down and be homeless. So, I just have to care about only the most important things right now," said Cox, whose girlfriend was hit in the jaw by one of their windows caving in.
Cox and his girlfriend have been staying in a hotel since the explosion. Since then, he's also stacked chairs and tables against his home's back door to prevent break-ins.
These neighbors who have lost their homes have set up GoFundMe pages to help them get back on their feet. If you'd like to donate, click here and here.
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