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Fire at 28th and Marshall
01/23/2015 5:05 PM by John M
Reports of a house apartment fire at 28th and Marshall Streets. A person on scene says that one firefighter was taken away on a stretcher.
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PHOTOS: top by Rachel, middle by Joshua 1 2, bottom by Daniel
Just heard on the radio that one firefighter is being treated for an ankle injury.
The landlord of this building and other Church Hill properties is a classic slumlord… Maybe this will be his signal to sell and get gone from the Hill.
Yes, as always our Firefighters have responded quickly and put out the fire with minimal damages. Way to go RFDVA! Will be interested in knowing the cause – something preventable by the building’s owner?
Richmond Firefighter Injured While Fighting Apartment Blaze
http://wric.com/2015/01/23/richmond-firefighter-injured-while-fighting-apartment-blaze/
Thanks to the Richmond Firefighters for responding so quickly and I hope the firefighter who injured his ankle is alright. I don’t appreciate the slumlord comment on here. The gentleman that owns this apartment just so happens to be my step father. So if you can’t say something nice then I suggest you keep your comments to yourself, or perhaps you weren’t taught that!
@9 – A valid argument for or against something is not “but he’s family.”
@9 – I second Sarah’s comment and add that “if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all” NEVER applies when the issue could affect people’s health and safety
An elderly, longtime resident of Church Hill and tenant of this slumlord had so hoped for a nicer place to live out her last days. Her house had plaster falling from the ceiling, the exterior hasn’t been painted in at least 25 years, holes in the exterior siding, a poorly operating furnace that left her with outrageous heating bills and a host of other issues.
Despite numerous tenant requests and code enforcement violations, many of these issues still exist. This poor old woman passed away in this dump a few days before Christmas and just a few short weeks ago.
I read Kyle’s comment and pondered – Did I say something that was not true?
Here’s how Wikipedia defines a slumlord:
“A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a derogatory term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord (TRUE)with more than one property, (TRUE) who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, (TRUE) often in deteriorating neighborhoods. They may need to charge lower than market rent to tenants”. (TRUE)
Kyle, I’m sorry that you were offended by my comments about your stepfather but the fact is-he’s a slumlord and a cancer on the neighborhood. If it makes you feel better, I haven’t said anything here that I haven’t told him to his face. He just laughs…. Your stepfather has made a living keeping tired and poor people living in terrible conditions for years… there’s nothing noble about that.
laura, I don’t know the owner of this property (Steven Jo Suggs) but have to say Bravo! to what and how you said it.
Not that it would do any good but has he ever been brought up to the city? This poor woman’s account should be known by many!
I recall when Stan Smith was a notorious slumlord and owned the historic house next door but when he died, his son thank God, didn’t want anything to do with it and sold it to Spencer Budwell who restored the house to its former glory.
As for Suggs who is in his 80s, I can only find this property, one at 601-603 N 26th, and the home he lives in as properties they possess. True, more than one is multiple but by no way as bad as the dozens of properties other slumlords singularly own in Richmond. It doesn’t lessen the situation about the woman who died in her home while Suggs laughs it off.
Hello all who have made comments on this feed! Better late than never, but I am a resident of this building who was displaced due to the Fire, and I am appalled by what the community I love so much has had to say. Not that any news articles mentioned, or like any of y’all cared to ask how any of the residents were doing, but I am doing well. Let’s be clear, I live in a spacious and beautiful apartment which I love. I do not live in a “slum” thank you very much, but a charming historic Church Hill home with all original moulding, and one of the biggest reasons I adore the neighborhood so much. This fire was electrical and could have happened to anyone, a new house or an old house, and was not due to negligence by tenants or landlord. My landlord and my leasing agents (Bandazien & Holden) have been nothing but attentive before, and after this incident, and they have all worked hard to get us back into our lovely home. So jeez, have some respect here. And seriously, nobody died in our building a few weeks ago…. All of my neighbors were happy and beyond disappointed this happened.
I had a good friend who lived in the upper apartment at this address about 18 years ago. When I visited her there, on many occasions, I noticed several things. One, the apartment was huge. Enormous. The full length of the building, front to back. Two, it was dirt cheap. I think she paid maybe $200 a month for the whole place? It was like three bedrooms, but was so cheap that she could live alone. Third, it was a total shithole. And I had lived in shitholes, and was in fact at that time living in a shithole, but it happened to be in another part of town. I know shitholes. There was no heat, except in one room. It was a jukebox gas heater. Brrr! Each room had a single bare bulb as its overhead light fixture. It was infested with roaches (she moved into that being the case). From what I remember, the landlord was pretty much unresponsive, but since the rent was so cheap, no one really complained. Is that a slumlord? I don’t know. All I know is that it was cheap as hell to live there. And cold.
@ Clay Street– With all due respect, that was 18 years ago. The building we’re currently living in (a lovely, gutted/restored affair on Main Street) was derelict as recently as 14 years ago.
@14- Your landlord also owned a duplex on Broad St where the elderly woman I wrote about lived for years. Ironically, your landlord sold the property on 12/19 and she passed away on 12/23. She never lived in your building. For years, she lived in a house that the city classified the condition as “Poor for age”….the same classification given by the city for every property he owns….poor for age,
@16–For sure! I understand what you mean in theory, but the same person owns the property now, so I a not sure how the conditions are radically different. In addition, a sibling of a (different) friend has lived in the building more recently (within the past 5 years) and my understanding is that it was in much the same condition.
Another recollection from when my friend lived there (in the apartment that recently burned) was that she couldn’t do things like use a toaster oven and a space heater at the same time, because it would blow out the fuses. I was sympathetic, because I had the same problem where I lived in Oregon Hill at the time. It’s just the name of the game when you are in your ’20s and live in cheap housing and I didn’t have a lot of electronics at the time so it didn’t seem like a big deal. Luckily I never accidentally burned my house down. But it’s pretty easy to understand how something electrical can go wrong with antiquated wiring.
We are all aware of the challenges of living in Church Hill–the housing stock is so old and often has been neglected for years. Replacing the electrical is pretty much the first thing anyone does around here if you are serious about improving the property.
Hi Laura,
My name is Victoria, sorry I read your comment wrong, it was late and this feed that someone shared with my had me pretty upset.
A lot of Chuch Hill was in poor shape 18 years ago, so I find that comment from whoever “Clay Street” is (love how people with all of their opinions are afraid to show their identity) to be irrelevant. Anyway my house is lovely and charming. I have loads of pictures that I would be thrilled to show off, or you all can stop by for tea. You know where to find me…..
Hey Victoria,
I am glad you are okay and hope that you will be able to move back in quickly and smoothly. My posts are really just memories about the neighborhood, and I’d spent time in the building that burned and had specific observations about it. I’ve both owned and rented in Church Hill, and have been in and out of the neighborhood and seen it transition a great deal over the past 20+ years. My memories are valid, but they don’t necessarily reflect your current reality. I am sorry if you took offense. This board is an exchange of information as well as opinion, and I’m honestly glad you very clearly stated your information, I know that everyone feels better knowing that you didn’t suffer too much damage. All the best to you.