Laboratory confirms black mold in Chandler apartment

CHANDLER, AZ (CBS5) -

Jessica Ford's ceiling caved in with water during last week's powerful storm.

And when a maintenance man opened it up, the single mom said she saw black mold.

Managers with Laguna Village Apartments in Chandler denied there was a problem but now there's proof.

"I'm feeling even more scared than I was before, to know that it was confirmed and that is what it was that's what we've been inhaling for a couple months," Ford said.

CBS 5 News sent a sample of her ceiling sheet rock, provided by Ford, to Southeast Environmental Microbiology Laboratories where it tested positive for stachybotrys, a black mold that canproduce toxic spores.

The discovery is a far cry from what management told Ford last Thursday in a voicemail.

"The drywall has a colored backing on the back of it, and that is what the discolored spots are," said a manager with P.B. Bell, the company that owns Laguna Village. "It's actually not mold, and there's no mold that's been seen."

After sending the SEEML report to P.B. Bell, CBS 5 News asked why Ford was told it wasn't mold.

Through email, marketing director Kira Bell wrote, "The response was based on a preliminary conversation prior to any investigation or professional testing."

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Laboratory confirms black mold in Chandler apartment