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Fire marshal flags violations at deteriorating Eastside apartment complexes

Code Enforcement inspectors arrived Tuesday morning at two apartment complexes on the Eastside that failed recent HUD inspections. (WJXT)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4Jax on Wednesday learned from the city that the State Fire Marshal’s Office found several violations at two deteriorating Eastside apartment complexes in Jacksonville that have been the subject of an I-TEAM investigation.

It comes a day after federal and city inspectors went door to door at the Eastside Terrace Apartments and Eastside Gardens looking for safety issues. News4Jax saw more than a dozen inspectors from both Jacksonville city code enforcement and HUD at the complexes on Tuesday, checking about 100 units for safety violations.

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The city said the Fire Marshal’s Office found violations including a broken firewall, no carbon monoxide detectors, unpermitted equipment, flammable storage and structural damage.

A formal report was expected in a week.

Notably, both complexes received failing scores from the Housing and Urban Development Department. In their recent inspections, Eastside Terrace Apartments received a score of 6c/100, and Eastside Gardens Apartments received a score of 24c/100.

Anything under 60 is a failing grade for HUD.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, explained that the “c” in the score indicates that life-threatening conditions for tenants were observed during the Real Estate Assessment Center inspections.

News4Jax has requested reports from the city and HUD.