MACON, Ga. — July 5 marks two months since a large fire roared through a downtown Macon neighborhood.
The fire that sparked near the corner of Walnut and Spring Streets on May 5 destroyed three century-old homes and damaged several others. No serious injuries were reported.
Derrick Bell, 58, was arrested at the scene on May 5.
Bell faces six counts of criminal damage to the property for allegedly starting the fire, according to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office.
Bell remains in the Bibb County jail.
Neighboring residents are speaking out about the lasting effects the fire has left on the neighborhood and the damaged site that remains untreated.
94-year-old Paula East owns the property directly across the street. She says the heat from the fire damaged her home and melted the headlights off her car.
She told 13WMAZ that she and her neighbors are being exposed to toxic fumes from the site. The fumes have been blowing over to her side of the street for weeks.
"Every day I look at this. We've done everything to get the city to come and clean it up. Nobody has contacted us," East said.
Edwin Atkins also lives across the street from where the homes burned.
"I'm very disappointed that in two months there has not been one correspondence between anybody in the city or the owners," Atkins said. "So, I would hope that with the attention that we can gather on it, there will be a Zoom meeting or a there will be a hearing or the P&Z will have a public meeting to discuss it. We're just being neglected."