Fire displaces 15 from Augusta apartment complex rife with code violations
A fire has displaced 15 people from Azalea Park apartments, the complex already under threat of closure for uninhabitable conditions.
No one was injured, and the Red Cross is assisting those left homeless by the blaze. Augusta Fire Department spokesman Jason DeHart said the fire remains under investigation.
Augusta Code Enforcement has attempted to address code violations at the 200-unit complex since it changed hands – the latest time in 2018, Augusta Planning Director Rob Sherman has said.
During an October inspection, city staffers found existing fire damage, raw sewage, extensive flooding and water damage, exposed wires, missing fixtures and rodent and insect infestation.
In April of 2020, the complex had another fire, which damaged seven apartments, displacing their residents.
More: Augusta rental complex has rats, leaks and worse, but residents have nowhere to go
An Azalea Park tenant told The Chronicle last month she didn't know whether her heat would work when temperatures dropped and would use a space heater. Her apartment was in such bad shape she could no longer use her Section 8 voucher to pay the rent, but she'd been unable to find another place.
The city gave owners Atlanta-based Dunross Capital and Azalea Sureste Partners a November deadline to make repairs, but it failed to complete them. Even so the Augusta Commission voted against revoking their business license after Sherman said it would leave 70 existing tenants homeless.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fire displaces 15 from Augusta apartment complex with code violations
