JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville fire and rescue marshal is working to find out if record-breaking cold weather played a role in a fire that destroyed a local business on Christmas Eve.
JFRD crews entered the building to begin with and confirmed that there were no people or pets inside the structure during the fire.
It soon became clear that the structure was unstable due to the growing fire and required firefighters on the scene to pull back and attack the flames from the outside.
Video from the scene showed a large plume of smoke rising from the pile of rubble where the building once stood.
According to business records, the structure belonged to Schur & Company, which advertises itself as a pump repair facility specializing in pumps for pulp and paper mills.
We tried to contact the company by phone, but no one answered.
Eric Prosswimmer with JFRD told Action News Jax that the first floor of the building was mostly empty, but the second floor contained construction materials.
“Unfortunately, this building is a complete waste. The roof is gone. Everything inside it is gone. And we’re sorry about that.” Eric stated. “It’s not a time of year that we want to see any business go down or have an issue like this, but we’re thankful that no one was hurt.”
JFRD at this time said it is unclear what started this fire, or if the cold weather was a factor. The fire department is currently investigating.
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