BMW model suspected of starting Jacksonville International Airport fire might have been recalled
Action News Jax is working to find out if the BMW at the center of a massive fire at Jacksonville International Airport in May was part of a nationwide recall.
Below is a picture of the burned-out car being removed from the garage on Tuesday.
In late 2024, BMW recalled nearly 271,000 of its cars and SUVs due to a fire risk posed by a faulty water pump.
'They're having trouble with the connector, water is getting into it and other liquids. And the water pump on these particular BMWs is driven by an electric motor, so it causes it to short out. And could cause it to catch fire,' Tony Mossuto, owner of Everything Automotive, said.
The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration said the recall is for 2012-2018 models like the 3 and 5 series, and the X3 and X5. Action News Jax confirmed with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority that the BMW alleged to have started the fire is an X3.
RELATED: 1 month since Jacksonville International Airport parking garage fire, people are still without cars
Action News Jax's Madison Foglio called the ATF, JAA, and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, and asked them what model year the BMW was and if they knew the cause of the fire. No one could answer those questions.
Mossouto has been working with cars since 1983. He said that a fire that this issue can cause can have dire consequences.
'If it's an older car, or older model they could have oil leaks and all, it could be a fire that totally takes out the entire car. I mean it can get pretty big,' Mossouto said.
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Again we don't know if that car was recalled or what caused the fire. But Mossouto said that if you suspect anything wrong with your car, to get it checked out immediately.
JAA sent Action News Jax this statement about the parking garage reconstruction today:
'JAA is extremely thankful and fortunate to get to this phase, without death or injury, of the significant fire that occurred in JAX's hourly garage on May 16th. Because of the rapid response efforts of JFRD, JSO, and JAA's entire staff, a possible larger tragedy was averted. After extensive shoring was done to stabilize the structure, the last car was removed on June 24th, allowing demolition of the structurally compromised area to start, which will take approximately six weeks.'
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JAA also told Action News Jax that right now, there are 217 parking spaces unavailable because of the fire. Michael Stewart is the Vice President of External Affairs for the JAA. He said the airport has recently expanded its parking offerings.
'We were able to actually bring on some other parking spaces in our economy lots and expanded valet,' Stewart said. 'We have sufficient parking and we are inviting customers to come back and park at JAA or JAX facilities at the airport because we have about the same capacity as what we had before. We lost almost 500 spaces as a result of closing that section of the hourly garage. So come on back and park at Jacksonville International Airport when you travel!'
No word yet on when demolition of the impacted areas of the South Hourly Parking Garage is scheduled to begin.
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