Mount Dora, FL, Firefighters Train for Vehicle Fires in Parking Garages
In 2025, a fire in a parking garage at Jacksonville airport left 50 vehicles damaged.
To make sure they were ready should one happen in their jurisdiction, Mount Dora firefighters recently put their skills to the test during an exercise in a parking deck.
“We’re looking at different tactics if we were to have a vehicle fire inside the parking deck. We’re looking at location of the vehicle. What’s the possibility of fire spread to other vehicles?” Fire Chief Joseph Hightower explained to WKMG.
A vehicle was set on fire so firefighters had the opportunity to size up the scene and decide what method to use to extinguish the flames.
"There’s fire blankets, there’s, you know, nozzles, piercing nozzles that you’re able to go in and pierce the battery itself many parking garages lack a sprinkler system.
“We had to consider the weather when we in come in through the park and they can push in that fire with force, obviously smoke that goes along with it."
About the Author
Susan Nicol
News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.