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TVTranscript
00:00 There's nothing that could get me off this roof, sir.
00:01 No sun, rain, lack of bathroom facilities,
00:05 or fights with FEMA will get Rick Lowry
00:08 to depart from the roof of his Florida garage.
00:11 He told WINK.
00:12 I'm up here because the town of Fort Myers Beach
00:15 and the state have decided that they want me
00:17 to demolish my garage.
00:18 Fort Myers Beach says Lowry has to tear down the garage
00:22 he and his wife Amy built to code in 2019.
00:25 It's a structure that Lowry says helped save his family
00:28 during Hurricane Ian.
00:30 I tied myself onto the corner here of the garage
00:34 and I made a swim for next door
00:37 to try and make it to my family.
00:39 The Lowry's home was lost during the hurricane.
00:41 FEMA guidelines state since the garage was laterally attached
00:45 to the home during the hurricane,
00:47 it has to be demolished.
00:49 Lowry argues the garage was a separate structure
00:52 and that he should be allowed to rebuild his home
00:55 on the same property.
00:56 The FEMA standards are so strict
00:58 that it makes it difficult for the town
01:00 to have the flexibility to do what they'd like to do,
01:02 which is to help them save their garage.
01:04 Rick and Amy Lowry have been living in an RV
01:07 since Hurricane Ian.
01:08 Lowry says this rooftop protest
01:10 is for more than just him and his garage.
01:13 I'm not really up here just for myself.
01:15 I'm up here because everybody's having a similar story.
01:18 It's not just my story, there's a million different stories.
01:22 This is Inside Edition Digital.
01:24 (upbeat music)
01:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]