8 months later, victims of Belleza condo fire still waiting on State Fire Marshal report

An Action News Jax investigation is getting some answers for local families who are waiting to find out what caused the fire that destroyed their homes.

Twenty units were destroyed when the Belleza Condos caught fire in 2015.

Now eight months later, families say they’re losing money as they wait for answers from the State Fire Marshal.

“Originally they said it was going to be out quickly but then they kind of just stalled,” said Marlene Vincent.

Vincent lives at the Belleza Condos. She said she and others think the state’s report on the cause of the fire hasn’t been released because they want people to forget about the fire and information that she said can be used for insurance and possible lawsuits.

“I thought really it was going to take them four years because I felt like they didn't want to release it,” Vincent said.

Action News Jax reached out to the State Fire Marshal’s Office and received the following statement:

“Unfortunately the report is not yet available for this fire as the investigation is still open and ongoing. At this time there aren’t any updates. The investigator on the case indicated that within the next 2-3 weeks we should be in the final stages of the investigation if we haven’t already closed the investigation by that time. “

Information Vincent says has taken too long to get, but still she’s hopeful it will bring some answers and closure.

“At least we’ll know. I don't know what we'll know, but we'll know something,” Vincent said.

Cox Media Group