MACON, Ga. — After two fires in the month of July, windows are now boarded up, but the county says there are a few other things that need to be fixed before the building can be up to code.
May of 2019, Macon-Bibb fire crews responded to a call on Baconsfield Drive.
Then, there was another fire on July 8, and July 16, 2020. Three fire calls in a 14-month span.
According to our records and all practical means, it's empty, it's vacant, but we know that the probability or the potential that people are inhabited there is pretty high.
Fire Chief Marvin Riggins says with this probability, firefighters always have to be sent into the building and it becomes more and more dangerous every time.
"Every time this structure catches fire, it weakens the integrity of the building," says Riggins.
According to the county, the building was cited for two code violations, overgrown grass and open, unsecured entrances.
The county's code requires vacant structures to be secured so people cannot go in. This was supposed to be corrected in May and then again on July 22, but the county says the owner never showed up for the inspections.
On the tax assessor website, the owner is listed as Baconsfield Apartments LLC on Eisenhower Parkway. Riggins says although the building is boarded up now, it's only a matter of time before the pattern continues.
"The owner has been very cordial in working with us in this regard, he has gone and boarded it up, and unfortunately, people come by and take the boarding materials down and go back into the building, so it's kind of like a revolving door," he says.
Riggins says they're working closely with the sheriff's department to try to increase patrolling in the area.
The county says they are in contact with the owner to try to set up an inspection within the next two weeks.
We reached out to the building's owner, but have not received a response.