Residents still without permanent stairs weeks after apartment removed them

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Residents at a DeKalb County apartment complex finally have temporary stairs to reach their second-story units.

Channel 2 Action News first reported how firefighters had to rescue people stuck on the second floor of the Maple Walk Apartments in Decatur earlier this month.

Channel 2's Sophia Choi learned residents were using ladders to reach their second-floor homes. Even though it was unsafe, residents said they had to get into their homes after waiting weeks.

“I got a ladder and came home. I had no choice. I didn’t have the funds to stay out anymore,” resident Shawta Tiller said.

As of Tuesday, they have temporary wooden steps to use.

The DeKalb County fire marshal toured the construction site weeks after the complex removed their stairs.

Residents said despite promises of payments for hotel rooms, they have received nothing. So after a week or so, they decided to use ladders to get in.

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“It was very dangerous, because trying to take groceries, just trying to get your things up it was just very scary and dangerous,” resident Tyler Reese said.

The fire marshal said the county evacuated residents on three separate occasions for using those unsafe ladders.

Channel 2 Action News was with the code enforcement officer who checked out a host of other problems at the complex, including mold and holes inside units, and major structural problems like a sagging balcony.

“It’s not just the building with no stairs, most of the buildings around here look like this, with debris all over the hallway and the ceiling gone,” one resident said.

The county said the owners of the complex were late in following their orders, and they will be cited for the delay.

“The building department is waiting for that structural analysis pending to be submitted by the ownership. That’s where the permanent fixes will take place,” DeKalb fire marshal Joe Cox said.

Choi contacted the apartment manager, who declined to comment.

Cox Media Group