The squalid Vista Gardens apartment complex has corrected “over 80 percent” of the more than 700 fire code violations issued in a Fairfax County crackdown last month, including those for the widespread lack of fire alarms, a fire department spokesman said Monday.
The apartments, which sit in the Culmore community near Falls Church off Leesburg Pike, were the subject of an intense investigation by building code, health and fire officials after pressure from the community brought elected leaders into action.
The investigation came shortly after a community meeting — sponsored by the nearby St. Anthony of Padua Parish and Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement — brought out tenants to testify publicly about the conditions and the property managers’ apparent indifference to them.
In addition to the missing alarms, the inspectors found living spaces infested with rats, bedbugs and other parasites, and areas with missing or broken fire extinguishers, exposed wires, broken windows, gas leaks, peeling paint and other problems.
To live there, Vista Gardens’ largely immigrant tenants pay upward of $1,200 a month.
Property manager Wanda Samuels, who has refused earlier interview requests, could not be reached for comment Monday.
“There is still a very long way to go,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross, who represents the Mason District. Though they were quick to put in fire alarms, Vista’s property managers have yet to address many of the other issues, she said.
The violations issued by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were the most numerous, but did not address the vermin infestation or other health issues.
Last month, some Vista Gardens tenants told The Examiner that their complaints about the conditions had long fallen on deaf ears.
But fire department spokesman Lt. Willie Bailey said on Monday the property “is doing an outstanding job handling the violations that we located and repairing them in a timely manner.”
Each of the violations cited by fire officials could have carried as much as a $2,500 fine, though Bailey’s statements Monday signal that those fines probably won’t be enforced.
