‘I have nothing.’ Tenants livid after flooding damage at Kansas City storage facility

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Kathleen McCabe was inconsolable when she discovered water dripping into her storage unit at the Midtown Kansas City Public Storage on June 26. She had not been warned of the damage in the Main and Armour facility , advertised as climate-controlled.

“I was literally primal screaming in the storage unit when I realized what box that pipe was dropping directly on,” said McCabe, a veteran with disabilities.

The cardboard box contained her son’s baby items and granddaughter’s mementos, in addition to important photos and documents.

After a rodent infestation forced the disabled veteran to leave her Kansas City apartment, McCabe moved all of her clothes, electronics and knicknacks to the self-storage facility while she traveled with her dogs for a few months. Now, she believes everything in her unit is ruined.

Two tenants told The Star the items in their self-storage units were ruined by water from floods inside the building. After McCabe found water in late June, Public Storage notified more tenants July 8 of damage from July 4 storms.

They allege employees failed to notify them of the damage and tried to prevent them from removing their damaged belongings from Public Storage, located at 3440 Main St.

Public Storage did not respond to The Star’s multiple requests for comment. The Star was not able to learn how many units were affected and how many instances of flooding have occurred at the facility.

‘Everything I own was in there’

When McCabe told an employee about the dripping pipe June 24, before she discovered the extent of the damage inside her unit, she said the worker “tried to play it off like somebody spilled water in the hallway.”

But McCabe said the puddle extended 20 feet in both directions from her unit and seemed to her to be coming from a pipe.

A short-term solution turned into a nightmare for another Kansas City resident. After fleeing from domestic violence, Shelbi Hussong put her belongings in Public Storage’s Midtown facility while she stayed with a friend.

On July 6, Hussong discovered the contents of her storage container ruined by water. In addition to damage to her mattress and bookshelves, the woman was devastated that book pages were stuck together, ruining part of her collection of over 1,000 tomes.

“The water was like in the unit for so long that everything had just been soaked totally through,” said Hussong.

“Everything I own was in there,” she said. “I’m moving into a house in a couple of weeks, and I have nothing to move into it.”

An email dated July 8 from Public Storage to tenants, obtained by The Star, stated, “Our property at 3440 Main Street experienced flooding due to recent storms this past July 4, 2024 causing some damage to our facility.”

While the email requested tenants “visit your unit as soon as possible to check your goods for possible damage,” it continued saying access would be limited in the upcoming days.

McCabe said she hasn’t been able to fully assess the water damage, but she received the email saying her unit “may have been affected” by the July 4 flooding. This means her belongings could have been damaged by both a dripping pipe and a storm.

‘Shoving me out the door’

McCabe and Hussong’s units had the required rental insurance. While both women submitted paperwork to Public Storage’s in-house insurance company, the Orange Door Storage Insurance Program had not responded to either individual. Hussong’s policy has a $5,000 maximum payout, and she says her belongings were worth more than that.

Both individuals said they had difficulty working with Public Storage staff to recover their belongings. Neither tenant was notified of the water damage before they first entered their units. Later, they said employees told them they couldn’t enter their unit without signing a liability waiver.

Hussong said an employee confronted her when she was trying to reenter her unit.

“He was like screaming and like shoving me out the door. And he ripped the form out of my hands and told me I had to leave and I wasn’t able to be on the property at all and I couldn’t take photos of any of my things.”

As McCabe and Hussong wrestle with Public Storage and insurance, they are frustrated with the situation.

McCabe said, “Their whole business model is safety and security of your possessions.”

Have more questions about businesses in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com .