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Apartment safety violations uncovered after massive fire in Northwest Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — July 23, 2019 is a nightmare dozens of families at Colloway Cove Apartments in Northwest Jacksonville will never forget.

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In the aftermath of the fire, inspectors found eight fire code violations in other units in the complex:

  • Failure to provide proper carbon monoxide monitoring and installation
  • Non-working smoking detectors
  • Update fire extinguisher inspection tags
  • Ensure proper permits are pulled for any work performed on property
  • Maintain operation of emergency lighting
  • Properly use multi plug adapters
  • Provide required covers for electrical panel boxes
  • Properly store outside grills

Action News Jax investigates reported last week that dozens of fire extinguishers had to be replaced because they were expired.

"The fire extinguishers are old, they are old," Nigeria Mitchell said.

Since then, we found learned there were also nonworking smoke detectors, exposed electrical wiring improper storage for outside grills.

Mitchell moved to the complex one year ago.

She remembers vividly when her neighbor's home went up in flames.

"I was afraid and scared," Mitchell said

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Three children and their mother are being treated at a Gainesville burn unit.

Last week, Action News Jax learned that a gas service company had been called multiple times to inspect gas lines at the complex.

"They were burned pretty bad," Shawn Blige said.

Shawn Blige says to prevent anyone else from getting hurt, better inspections should be done.

"They walk in and look at the stoves, but I don't think a human can never tell, I think they should come in with some type of merchandise that can detect the gas," Blige added.

The state fire marshal has not said what caused the fire, but neighbors we talked to believe it was a gas stove.

We asked property management how long it’ll take for them to fix the issues before a reinspection but we're still waiting for an answer.