JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
A Westside warehouse valued in excess of $1 million was a total loss after a two-alarm fire early Wednesday morning.
A passerby spotted the fire at Eagle Logistics in the 700 block of Scotia Road at about 1 a.m. When Jacksonville Fire Rescue personnel arrived, they found flames shooting through the roof of the 40,000-square-foot warehouse.
Because of the size of the structure, a second alarm was sounded to bring additional resources. More than 70 firefighters were involved in fighting the blaze.
JFRD spokesman Tom Francis said there was only one 8-inch water main in the area, so seven tankers had to be brought in, each carrying 2,500 gallons of water. The tankers shuttled water in most of the night.
Fighting the fire on the inside was halted because the roof collapsed on one side of the warehouse full of paper and food products. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no firefighters were injured when the roof collapsed.
"There has been some structural collapse, which you can see by looking at the roof and at the other side of the building," said Detective Andy Redding of the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Firefighters remained on scene most of Wednesday cooling down hot spots.
City and state fire investigators spend Wednesday trying to pinpoint what caused the fire. Francis said heavy equipment needed to be brought in to move debris during the investigation, so it may take an extra day to find the source of the fire.
The general manager of Eagle Logistics said he was hoping the warehouse's office could be salvaged. So was employee Ronnie Todd.
"Long as the front office ain't burned up, I'm fine," Todd told Channel 4's Vickie Pierre. "Long as I keep working, that's all that matters."
The company said it plans to look for an new location and will continue business the best they can.
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