Florida Apartment Fire Leaves 10 Homeless

Aug. 9, 2014
Eight units were damaged in a Jacksonville apartment fire that 30 firefighters responded to.

Aug. 09--A fire gutted four units of an Arlington Expressway apartment complex Friday night, leaving at least 10 people homeless, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

Multiple fire trucks with 30 firefighters responded to the blaze shortly after 7:30 p.m. at The Reserve at Water's Inlet complex in the 6100 block of Arlington Expressway, Fire Chief Mike Allen said.

"It started in a downstairs apartment , then spread to the two above it and one beside it," the chief said. "It is still under investigation. We think it's cooking."

The American Red Cross is on scene helping the displaced families, fire officials said. Many of the fire engines were parked along Arlington Expressway's service road, forcing police to shut down west of Cesery Boulevard.

Overall, eight units are without power after the fire. Other units have to have their power shut off during the battle, which took about 30 minutes to get the fire out.

Some of the fire units had to leave the scene near the end of the battle when another apartment complex fire was reported north of this scene. But that turned out to be a minor incident, Allen said.

Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549

Copyright 2014 - The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville

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