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Senior cited for code violations after house fire
Kailey Tracy reports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A woman who lost everything in a house fire got some good news Wednesday from city leaders in St. Petersburg.
The Code Enforcement Board is giving Gloria Francine Maxwell 180 more days, the maximum amount, to address code violations while she works to rebuild the home she lived in for close to 50 years and that her dad helped build.
In June 2022, a fire tore through her home, destroying almost everything Maxwell owned as well as killed her four animals.
"I was woken up at between one and 1:30 with two boom, boom noises," Maxwell said. "I jumped out of bed, because I just got back in bed, saw flames coming out the back of my house."
Since then, she has received several code violations from the city, including for the hole in her roof and smoky soot on the exterior walls. The city said since the case began in May, Maxwell has fixed two out of six violations.
"I couldn't find a place to live. I want to bring awareness even with this horrible story and going through code violations and stuff, how hard it is for senior citizens to find someplace to live like myself," she said.
City officials said they’ve been working with Maxwell over the past six months to help her correct the code violations. Codes Compliance Director Joe Waugh said initially, they connected Maxwell with the city’s Housing and Community Development program, which offers funding for residents who need repairs to their homes for code violations, safety issues and accessibility issues.
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He said they then determined the scope of the work required major repairs beyond the program’s capacity.
Waugh said the department provided Maxwell with a dumpster, helped with debris removal, cut down and removed all vegetative overgrowth outside her home and tried to install a temporary tarp over the roof, but the conditions were unsafe and wouldn’t support the tarp installation. They also connected her with housing assistance programs.
Maxwell said she’s trying to make her home, that she paid off, livable again, and didn’t qualify for the assistance programs.
The Code Enforcement Board voted Wednesday, though, to give her 180 more days to address the violations before fining her $100 each day until the violations are addressed.
"From what you’ve told us your experience is just horrible," Board Member Alesandria Auseklis said.
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Maxwell said she felt better leaving the meeting Wednesday.
"It almost makes you want to cry, because it restores my faith that somebody does care because first you want to say, ‘oh, they just want to push you out of your land,’ you know, or out of your house," she said.
"I was in there 48 years last year. It would have been 49. I wasn't planning on leaving the neighborhood. I feel a little relief, but not completely, because I still need help. I need somebody to donate. Some would donate some time," Maxwell said.
Waugh said the city will continue to support Maxwell to bring her home into compliance, but they also have to balance the concerns of her neighbors who’ve sent several complaints to the city about the property.
Maxwell didn’t have insurance at the time of the fire. Just two days before the fire, she got solar panels installed on her roof and was about to recertify her insurance. The cause of the fire is undetermined.