JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A fire in the hourly garage at Jacksonville International Airport last Friday damaged at least 50 cars and left 1,200 drivers stranded for days.
Some of those drivers have begun to retrieve their cars from the undamaged part of the hourly garage that was initially closed for safety, but the aftermath of the fire continues to cause headaches for travelers.
“My flight isn’t for another two hours, so with the parking lot fire and holiday travel, I came here four hours early,” said Joseph Marion III, who was traveling out of Jacksonville.
Marion has been in Jacksonville for the past two weeks visiting family. Like many travelers at the airport on Thursday morning, all he could think about was the garage fire.
His car wasn’t in the garage, but he was concerned about dropping off his rental.
“It was a little bit difficult, considering the circumstances. I think it was fine. It would have been worse if it wasn’t for getting notified,” Marion said. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t know what I was doing.”
He told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee that Channel 4 helped him through the process because the car rental drop-off was relocated after the fire, leaving Joseph with many questions.
“If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have known who to return the car to,” Marion said. “I knew it was not going to be in the parking lot, and as it turned out, as I got here, they just reopened it.”
Memorial Day rush
Lines began forming at JAX on Thursday morning for what AAA marks as the start of Memorial Day weekend travel.
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The organization is expecting a little over 45 million people to travel at least 50 miles this holiday weekend, and 3.61 million of those travelers are expected to travel in the skies.
According to AAA, this year’s air travel is expected to increase nearly 2% compared to last year.
But on top of dealing with the increase in passengers, JAX is still coping with the aftermath of Friday’s devastating garage fire.
With access to the hourly parking garage shut off, except for those retrieving their stranded vehicles, many travelers will have to make other arrangements.
And those who are picking up and dropping off rental cars -- which typically happens in the ground floor of the hourly garage -- are dealing with the impact.
Those who have their cars parked in the hourly garage were asked to fill out an online form to receive updates regarding their vehicles.
With the help of that form, airport volunteers will be able to cross-reference and notify owners if they were parked in a “safe area.”
Starting Tuesday, drivers who had been contacted by the airport directly were able to start retrieving their cars from the undamaged portion of the hourly garage.
How it happened
A Jacksonville Aviation Authority police report obtained by News4JAX on Tuesday revealed the timeline of the devastating fire.
According to the report, security footage showed that the initial smoke came from a mid-sized BMW that was parked in the upper level of the hourly garage.
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With the help of security video of the parking garage, officials put together the following timeline:
8:07 a.m.: Mid-size BMW dark in color, enters hourly garage through upper level access
8:09 a.m.: Woman parks and exits vehicle, walking toward departures
12:03 p.m.: Smoke observed coming from beneath the front of the vehicle
12:04 p.m.: Vehicle fully engulfed in fire. Due to the thick smoke, the video did not show how the fire spread after that
According to the report, around 12:06 p.m., the Airport Operations Control Center received a forwarded dispatch from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office about a car on fire in the hourly garage.
JAA officers responded to the scene.
The report said Officer Muse was the first to arrive at the scene and saw a car on fire rapidly spreading to nearby vehicles.
Due to low/no visibility, Muse helped several passengers from the hourly garage to safety.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department also responded to the scene to battle the flames.
According to the report, firefighters treated an “unknown” number of passengers for smoke inhalation.
The report goes on to say that the fire caused structural damage to the hourly garage, prompting its closure.
Officials said in a news conference after the fire that parts of the parking structure had partially collapsed.
