17-05-2025
Photos show burned-out cars at Jacksonville International Airport after fire
Photos shared by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department on Saturday, May 17, give a better look at the devasting fire that swept through a Jacksonville International Airport parking garage a day earlier.
In the just-released images, several burned-out cars are shown on the third level of the hourly parking structure. According to estimates from city and airport officials, 50 vehicles were damaged in the mid-day May 16 blaze that forced the closure of JIA for several hours and the indefinite closure of the parking garage to allow experts to assess the structural safety of the building.
More on the fire: Jacksonville airport parking garage fire cancels flights, closes parking facilities
A day after the fire that caused no serious injuries, the daily parking garage and daily surface parking lot remained closed to incoming vehicles, limiting on-airport parking mostly to the outlying "economy lots," which were 95% full as of noon.
The hourly parking garage is a parking structure located directly across from the airport terminal, with an upper-level drop-off area for departing passengers and a lower-level pick-up area for arriving passengers separating the two buildings.
The daily parking garage structure and daily surface lot parking extend out beyond the hourly parking garage, which is used most often for short stays at the airport to drop off or pick up family members or friends who are traveling to and from the airport. The ground floor of the facility also houses several rental car pick-up and drop-off facilities.
What's next: Heading to JIA? Parking options limited after fire sweeps through airport parking garage
It was too early to tell what ignited the blaze.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department chief Keith Powers said airport video indicated that the fire began in one vehicle on the second parking level and damaged an estimated 50 other cars, burning so intensely that the heat triggered a partial collapse of the garage's second and third floors. A secondary collapse followed about 30 minutes later, he said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville airport fire damages 50 cars. See the photos
