Former residents of a Truckee apartment complex that was the site of a deadly explosion this week, have claimed staying there made them sick.

Former residents Mark Pledger and his mother Sharon Burton say there was a problem with toxic mold, and they claim there were high levels of formaldehyde in the air at the Henness Flats Apartment Complex.

An explosion occurred in one of the units in the complex on Waters Way in Truckee on Tuesday evening that killed a young mother of three and injured the rest of her family.

"I got bumps, headaches, lightheadedness, diarrhea, bloody noses... I would sit down and watch T.V., and blood would just pour out of my nose," said Mark Pledger.

His mother claims her singing voice was damaged because of alleged chemical contamination in the unit where they lived for a few months last year.

Their attorney says she has recorded complaints and conducted tests in a number of units in the same complex.

But a representative for Cambridge Real Estate Services, which represents apartment owners The Pacific Companies, denies the claims. Jeff Passadore says when the company received notice of the complaints, it ordered a series of exhaustive tests that found no evidence of contamination.  

"That issue was raised about a year and a half ago," Passadore said. "We retained experts to complete a thorough evaluation of that issue, and once we felt we had all the necessary information, we made it available to all residents and other members of the public. [We wanted] to assure them that the property is entirely safe. The lab tests confirm there is absolutely no cause for concern, no elevated levels of anything."