HENRICO, Va. -- It was a rude awakening for one Henrico family when the ceiling of their apartment caved in around them early Tuesday morning. And just as concerning, according to the mother, is how long it took for help to arrive.
Jennelle Bowery was startled out of her sleep around 4:30 a.m. But it wasn't someone, but something that brought fear into her home.
"I looked up and the ceiling was falling down and the insulation," Bowery recalls. "I threw the covers off and got right out of bed, I was afraid I was going to get hurt."
Bowery said that within a matter of minutes, the ceiling did cave in.
"I mean a couple of inches over and I could have been seriously injured," Bowery said.
The Henrico mother managed to get out of her bedroom to check on her eight-year-old son, Dylan, who was sleeping in the next room. There was only one thing the two could do.
"I left, because I felt like I was in danger," Bowery exclaimed. "It wasn't a safe environment for me and my son."
However before leaving, Bowery said she made several calls for help.
"I called maintenance, [but] they didn't answer," Bowery said.
CBS 6 reached out to the company that manages the complex, Landmark Property Services, Inc. Brian Chase with the company said Bowery called and left messages for help on the office line instead of calling emergency maintenance.
In a statement Chase added:
"As soon as we knew about it, it was corrected. She left the message in the wrong spot. But as soon as we found out it was handled immediately. It`s not like we got the call and didn't go."
Both Bowery and management said a water heater, in the apartment's attic had began leaking. This in turn caused the ceiling to eventually cave in.
Fortunately for Bowery she does have renter's insurance, which she said is required at her apartment complex. She's now in the process of filing a claim.
