“I couldn’t go back into the smoke,” Maxwell recently told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “The fireman came later and said I had maybe 10 or 11 minutes to get out of there.”
All four of her animals—three cats and a dog she calls her “fur babies”—died in the fire. The fire made her home unlivable, and she’s been almost homeless three times in the last year.
In January, Maxwell said, St. Pete’s code enforcement started issuing citations for debris, overgrown plants, and unrepaired fire damage to the house.
“It’s been like a kick in the gut,” Maxwell told CL. “I need some help now. I need some type of assistance.”
At the time of the fire, Maxwell says her home was uninsured.
“I didn’t have insurance on the house for a couple of years ‘cause I was just negligent,” Maxwell says. “And I said, I gotta get insurance back.”
Before the blaze, Maxwell had begun making significant repairs to reinsure her home and rent out a room to international students.
According to city records, Maxwell got a permit for a new roof in April 2022. The next month, she got a permit for solar panels. The combined cost for both the roof and the panels was over $31,000. The fire happened a month after that, and because Maxwell wasn’t insured, all the fire damage comes out of pocket.
Maxwell is one of many Floridians who often own their homes outright and choose to forgo homeowner’s insurance, which is not required by the state. Known by some as “going bare,” Maxwell is part of an estimated 13% of Floridians who don’t carry property insurance. And considering how high insurance rates are rising in the state, the number of uninsured property owners is only expected to grow.
On Jan. 3, St. Pete’s Code Enforcement began citing Maxwell for trash. The first violation came after a complaint from her next-door neighbor. Since the fire, Maxwell has been staying in Largo in senior housing. She has no car and relies on others to drive her to St. Pete every 1-2 weeks to get her mail and check on the property.
“It takes me 40 minutes to get from Largo, where I’m staying,” Maxwell said. “I had no recourse. There was nothing I could do.”
Courtesy
After the first violation, Maxwell, fellow senior citizens, and community members helped her pick up the property in St. Pete’s Child’s Park.
Joe Waugh, St. Pete’s Codes Compliance Director, told CL that the city has “been working with Ms. Maxwell over the past six months to assist with correcting the code violations caused by a fire that occurred at her residence.”
Waugh’s page-long statement details how the city has tried to help Maxwell thus far, including the services from the city’s Neighborhood Team or “N-Team.”
Waugh says N-Team provided Maxwell with a free dumpster, assisted with debris removal, cut down vegetative overgrowth, and attempted to install a tarp over the roof damage but were unsuccessful because the roof was compromised.
By July 6, the second violation on the home came into compliance.
A third violation filed as a property fine violation on May 16, details six significant repair areas that comprise the bulk of the home’s fire damage: fire-damaged fascia, vinyl fence disrepair from fire, solar panels damaged by fire; solar panel permit expired without final inspection, securing boards need paint, the roof has fire damage disrepair, and exterior walls are covered in smoke.
The city’s Housing and Community Development program funds repairs for residents’ homes facing code violations, safety issues, or accessibility issues. But Waugh’s statement said housing staff ultimately determined “that the scope of the work required major repairs beyond the program’s capacity.”
Maxwell’s house needs extensive repair of the roof and frame. Because some of the trusses on the house were damaged, a structural engineer is required, which costs a lot more than just replacing the roof. According to Maxwell, the contractor estimated the cost to repair the damage to be around $60,000. So far, she hasn’t gotten any financial assistance from the city, county, or state to help.
“Give me a loan,” Maxwell said. “I don’t mind paying a 10-year loan.”
Code enforcement reinspected the property on Aug. 4 and Oct. 12, noting that the violations remain. A Code Enforcement Board hearing is set for Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 8:30 a.m.
“I feel like the city is trying to force me out,” Maxwell said.
Two days after the fire, Maxwell says she got an offer for $60,000 for her home from someone via email. Another offer came in for $80,000 cash. Maxwell says she doesn’t plan on selling.
“I want to go back, and I’m not trying to leave my neighborhood,” Maxwell said. “I just need some help.”
Her corner lot is zoned Neighborhood Traditional 2 or NT-2, which allows for an Accessory Dwelling Unit or ADU. And at 8,451 square feet, the lot is more than big enough for zoning codes. Plus, the property is in St. Pete’s rare and coveted non-evacuation zone.
St. Petersburg’s program to purchase “blighted homes” reportedly resells those properties to developers at reduced rates to create affordable housing.
After sharing her troubles with the city, a friend responded, “Somebody wants your property.”
But Maxwell doesn’t want to leave. “This house…it’s my home,” Maxwell told CL.
She moved in as a twentysomething in 1974 and raised her son there with her husband. She cared for her parents full-time for 12 years, starting in the 1980s. She later cared for her husband there, too. “I’m not going down without a fight,” she added.
St. Pete Fire Rescue’s report didn’t determine what caused the fire. So, an attorney offered to take her case and advised Maxwell to board up the house until a third-party fire investigator could complete a report. Maxwell said the first investigator she hired died unexpectedly in October. The second investigator completed his report in March, determining that the car had caused the fire. Her attorney advised that funds might not arrive from a case for a while.
“If I get some money from that, then we can really start fixing this place up,” Maxwell, now 75 years old, said. “I’ve been trying to find a job to get some income.”
After the investigation concluded in March, Maxwell saw the damage for herself for the first time since the fire. Before that time, she says she thought the roof had caved in.
“My spirit is there,” she said. “If I can just live in one room, it’s gonna take some time, but I can fix this place.”
Last week, Maxwell’s niece started a GoFundMe with a goal of $30,000 for repairs.
Maxwell’s CEB hearing is at St. Pete City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 8:30 a.m. She plans to present a report from her contractor, another report from the structural engineer, and evidence that she’s working to get compliance.
“On average, the board has granted property owners in attendance an additional 80 days to correct violations,” Waugh wrote in his statement. “But it is common that even more time is granted in cases such as Ms. Maxwell’s based on the circumstances.”
With more time, enough funds, and support from the community, Maxwell hopes to return home.
“I plan to move back into my home,” Maxwell said. “Even if I can only fix it little by little, that’s my goal.”
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