VANCOUVER -- Dozens of people who lost their homes to a devastating apartment fire last month are victims once again after their units were robbed, despite being monitored round the clock by a private security company.

The Pentagon apartment building near Heather Street and Southwest Marine Drive was severely damaged in an early morning fire last month, forcing residents out due to severe structural damage. Investigators believe the blaze may have been started by fireworks.

This week residents were finally able to briefly access their units to get the belongings that weren’t damaged by fire, smoke or water and they discovered every suite had been ransacked with all their valuables stolen.

"We just trusted the property management people saying that everything was secure, everything will be controlled,” said Stalin Selvam, who lived in the building.

Hanz Bigcas and his parents had thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings swiped, including $10,000 in professional makeup. He’s most alarmed that a spare credit card he’d kept hidden in his room was activated with hundreds of dollars in transactions attempted in Surrey.

“It's a combination of bad emotions – irritating and very mad about what's happened," said Bigcas.

An international student was badly rattled to get a late-night phone call from someone claiming to have personal information in a Surrey parking lot.

"I was so worried I couldn't sleep all night," said Kruti Patel, who lost the modest possession’s she’d come to Canada with three years ago, in addition to the clothing and few other things she’d bought since then.

"It's creepy that somebody went inside your house and took all your stuff out and stole everything," she said. "It's all gone, it's damaged. We just need an answer now -- who's going to take responsibility [for] it? Why [has] this has happened to us?"

The property manager referred CTV News’ request to the building’s insurance company, Intact Insurance.

In an email statement, the company said “We understand that it can be a stressful and uncertain time when people are asked to leave their homes for safety reasons. That’s why we have worked to secure this building since day one with personnel on site 24/7.”

While the spokesperson wouldn’t go into detail, security guards on site told CTV News that all three doors to the building are checked every half an hour and that there are two guards on either side of the three-storey apartment at all times. One guard said that the front door had been left unlocked immediately after the fire so investigators could get in, but said it has since been sealed like the rest of the entrances.

"They even took their sweet time. In some of the apartments they sat, they had popcorn, they had chips," said Selvam.

“Our contracted security has reported issues with individuals in the area and have increased security and asked for police support to ensure the building is secure,” wrote Impact Insurance.

Vancouver police say they have a number of files open for the building on Southwest Marine Drive, including the initial arson investigation. Both the thefts and the arson are still under investigation and police say no one has been arrested yet.

When it comes to compensating residents, Impact Insurance says they’re on their own.

“Content loss is typically covered under an individual’s tenant insurance and we would recommend tenants work with their insurance companies,” wrote Impact Insurance.

Most of the residents don't have tenancy insurance and plan to band together to seek advice from the Residential Tenancy Branch on how to proceed. They don’t think they can afford to fight a legal battle for the money to replace their stolen belongings.