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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Days after a fire broke out at the Peppertree Apartments, lawyers for the property owners were in Environmental Court Tuesday.

Of the five units that caught fire Sunday, three were occupied. The Memphis Fire Department says it believes the fire was started in a vacant unit by someone who was not living there.

“From what we know,” said attorney Marcus Ward, “the fire had nothing to do with anyone who was rightfully there.”

One of the ways the city wants to stop people from getting inside second-floor apartments that are not occupied is by taking away access to them by removing staircases.

“They are not occupied now, they will never be occupied, so it doesn’t make any sense for anyone from the outside to continue to have access to them,” said Ward.

Lawyers for Peppertree balked at the idea, saying the owners had concerns about the nearly $25,000 price tag to remove the stairs and the damage it would cause.

Judge Patrick Dandridge is ordering the Peppertree Owners to make sure the property is more secure for the residents who are still living there. “We need at least at a minimum two security guards [with] 24/7 coverage.”

“We have to make sure that the security of the tenants is top priority,” said Ward. “Things occur all day long, we have to make sure that there are at least two.”

As of Tuesday, of the 210 families living at Peppertree when HUD cut its funding, 79 tenants are still there waiting to secure a new place to live. Representatives with Peppertree will be back in court on June 29.