Home Care In Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Chief Keith Powers said they expect to have most of the fire out by Wednesday night.

More Videos

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is currently on scene Tuesday of a fire continuing at Atlantic Can recycling center on Jacksonville's Northside.

JFRD Captain Eric Prosswimmer told First Coast News the fire started late Monday night around midnight. He said tires are making it difficult to put out the fire, as the fire department has been getting water from neighboring apartments to extinguish three to four acres of debris burning.

"Rubber burns very hot," Prosswimmer said. "So, what we're dealing with is you know, you hit it with water, we can dampen it down. But, if you stop that flow of water, then it's gonna flare right back up. We've really dampened it down quite a bit."

Prosswimmer further explained that firefighters cannot easily surround the fire due to "access blockage [and] road blockage." He said around 6:50 a.m. that JFRD is reevaluating the situation to determine how long it will take to completely put out the fire, but added that the fire department is "optimistic that we're gonna be able to get it out today."

No one has been injured in the fire, no structures have been impacted, nor are any structures in danger, according to Prosswimmer.

In an update at noon, JFRD Chief Keith Powers said rubber is what is burning, and that it's burning off from tires in a pile that's believed to be 200 by 300 feet wide. He said the owner of the recycling center told them the pile was about 30 feet high at first.

As for air quality in the area, Powers said wind is blowing smoke to the north of the recycling center, so "air quality monitoring crews" are stationed north of Interstate 295 to ensure safety.

"We have not found anything up there that's of any concern to us," Powers told First Coast News. "Currently, we've got about 30 units that are on scene, about 75 personnel, and that's gonna continue for a while. Hopefully, in a matter of three, four or five hours we're able to make a dent in some of this. But, this could go on for multiple hours beyond where we're at right now."

Powers noted that the fire department has not been able to discover how the fire started at this point and said multiple partners are helping JFRD put it out, including the city's public works department and JEA.

Credit: First Coast News

Credit: Cole Echevarria

Rubber is difficult to extinguish, JFRD spokesman says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fifteen hours into battling a massive fire at a Northside recycling facility, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said its heavy equipment team was still tackling the burning rubbish pile made mostly of ground-up tires.

The fire at Atlantic Can Inc., which is on the southeast corner of the I-295 junction with Main Street, sparked sometime around midnight, and at noon, JFRD Chief Keith Powers shared an update on their progress.

The facility recycles construction products and provides waste tire removal, demolition and other recycling services.

Powers explained that the area that was burning was a rubbish pile about 200 feet by 300 feet (a bit larger than a football field), and when the fire started it was 30 feet high.

RELATED: Toxic smoke from massive rubber pile burning on Northside sparks concerns about air quality

By noon, the pile had burned down significantly but was still so thick that the department opted to call in its heavy equipment team to start dismantling the pile.

Powers said Tuesday evening that the heavy equipment team would continue to work for a couple of hours and then they would shut it down to give them a break for safety reasons.

“The ladder pipes will stay up throughout the night and continue to cool the hot spots,” Powers said.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Capt. Eric Prosswimmer explained that because tires burn hot, they can be very difficult to extinguish.

“When this rubber gets going, it’s very difficult to put out. You can put copious amounts of water on it, but it burns deep and it retains that heat,” Prosswimmer said. “It burns very hot and produces a lot of dark black smoke so anybody driving by who sees dark black smoke, that’s what it is.”

That smoke is definitely a concern for those living nearby.

“The issue that we’re dealing with right now is that we’ve been very fortunate with the winds. It’s not a very windy day,” Prosswimmer said, adding that no evacuations are planned at this time. “If the wind shifts, that’s another matter that we want to deal with. This isn’t smoke that you want to inhale.”

Adam Johnson was working in a neighborhood near Oceanway Elementary School early Tuesday morning, and parts of that neighborhood were covered in smog.

“I will [feel it] eventually, because I have asthma, so later on tonight, I’ll have to end up taking medicine for that,” Johnson said.

WATCH: Press play below to see Prosswimmer’s full live interview on The Morning Show

Powers said JFRD is trying to keep crews out of the toxic smoke, even with the equipment they have, and they have a crew on the north side of the fire, where the smoke is billowing, keeping an eye on air quality.

He said residents nearby could be told to shelter in place if the air quality gets too bad, but as of the 6 p.m. update, that is not necessary.

“So we’re still in a good place with that. I will say that if somebody has, you know, asthma or any kind of allergies or whatever, if the smoke plume starts coming around, your residue, just shelter inside,” Powers said.

“Well, I’m wearing a mask, and this is the first time I’ve worn a mask since COVID. This smoke is really bad. It’s strong,” Essie Murray said.

Andrianna Pierson said she was caught off guard by the air quality.

“It’s pretty hard to breathe right now,” Pierson said. “I wasn’t expecting this. I was surprised. I almost came back to my car to get a mask.

A woman who saw the property go up in flames from her apartment complex just down the road described the scary moments to News4JAX.

“At first it was large, and I thought it was a little odd to see a burn not in a rural area but in the city,” Sasha Mincey said. “And then within 10 to 20 minutes, it went times five in size. It was scary. The fireballs were flying into the air, something was feeding it, it was not going away any time soon. It just kept getting bigger and bigger.”

Powers explained that because the fire is so large, the heavy equipment team will come in and take off a layer at a time, spreading it out over an area that can be thoroughly wetted down, and then do the same with the next layer.

The process could take hours more, Powers warned.

Another issue on the property was that there were no fire hydrants near the facility, so crews had to shuttle water from a nearby apartment complex and other areas. They had five tankers on scene overnight and were also drafting water from a lake on the property, Prosswimmer said.

“It’s manpower intensive because we’ve got people doing a lot of stuff. They’re spread out. They’re taking care of the water situation,” Prosswimmer said.

Powers said JFRD asked JEA to bump up the water pressure in the area and that helped firefighters get a better handle on the fire.

Prosswimmer said a large tractor and generators on the property have also been destroyed.

“Every time we turn the water back off, it tends to flare back up because of the heat that’s emitted,” Prosswimmer said.

Powers said the heavy equipment crew will resume their efforts in the morning and hope to have the “majority” of the fire extinguished by Wednesday evening.

“We’re blessed to have a city council in a mayor’s office that supports what we need and has staffed up this heavy equipment team that we have. Without them, we’d probably be here for a week, but because they’re able to get into that pile with that heavy equipment and start and start raking it back and cooling it down, I think we’re probably going to be done by tomorrow,” Powers said.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With affordable housing still a key issue in Jacksonville, JWB property management unveiled a new program Wednesday aimed at helping renters move closer to homeownership.

The HomeStep program was unveiled Wednesday morning at a news conference at Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park on Lee Street.

Recommended Videos

“The JWB HomeStep program is a fantastic example of a creative solution to what has become just the challenging issue of our times, really, and in this case, a path to homeownership,” Mayor Donna Deegan said.

RELATED | Jacksonville City Council approves $1 million for affordable housing builders, partners with JHFA on a new loan program

JWB President Alex Sifakis said the HomeStep program empowers renters by allowing them to convert a portion of monthly rent into equity credits, providing a path toward purchasing a home.

Here’s how the program works:

Sifakis said that if all JWB residents were to take advantage of this program, the company would ultimately contribute $16 million toward homeownership.

“Homeownership is really important to building neighborhoods, to building generational wealth and so we want to be more of a part of that. And we think this HomeStep program is the first of its kind in Jacksonville, and will really help our residents become homeowners,” Sifakis said.

Sifakis said JWB also offers free homebuyer education classes for all of their residents. Those classes are focused on credit repair, getting finance, saving for a down payment and saving for repairs. They also help residents and future homeowners understand all the different government and bank affordable housing grant programs and buying programs.

“We’re really excited about that, and we’re going to be holding five more of these classes for our residents, free classes for residents in 2025 and we’re really excited to be able to add the HomeStep program as a new additional benefit to those residents,” Sifakis said.

Deegan said Jacksonville has a deficit of 40,000 affordable housing units to support the community’s current needs, and programs like HomeStep will help alleviate the housing crisis.

“My vision for Jacksonville is, as it always has been, a city where every person, every single one of us, has the opportunity to thrive, and homeownership is one of the ways for our citizens to lead happy, healthy and prosperous lives,” Deegan said. “JWB’s HomeStep program is another step on the road toward that goal.”

Earlier this year, Jacksonville launched a homeownership pilot program providing $2 million in local funding for downpayment assistance to support individuals and families as they move from renting to homeownership.

Deegan said 100 applicants have been either approved or have already closed and moved into their new homes.

MORE | Jacksonville program aims to help 200 people with down payment assistance for homeownership

“This illustrates really how great the need and the desire is, and it shows that no matter how hard we work to tackle the issue, we cannot do it alone,” Deegan said.

Jacksonville will have nearly 4,000 below-market-rate housing units completed by the end of 2025, according to Deegan.

To learn more about the HomeStep program visit this website.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

Special committee set to meet in coming weeks to “seek a resolution”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Done for good.

The Laura Street Trio development group cited a “lack of communication and respect” during the failed negotiations with the city of Jacksonville on Wednesday.

The city said it is ending negotiations with the developer of the Laura Street Trio, which means redeveloping that area does not have a path forward for the time being.

A city representative told News4JAX Tuesday that the city is planning to refile a foreclosure lawsuit against the owner of the Trio and the development group.

Mayor Donna Deegan expressed her disappointment in the failed negotiations.

Deegan’s Chief of Staff, Mike Weinstein, worked on the negotiations with the development group and a number of other key players. Weinstein, too, expressed disappointment over the outcome.

“We really wanted to do it,” Weinstein said. “I don’t like not succeeding in an effort, but it’s just asking too much at this time.”

Weinstein said a number of factors made a deal challenging including apartment rental rates, hotel rates, and the task of renovating older buildings that have sat vacant for a number of years. Weinstein said a large chunk of city money was needed to make a deal work.

“Each time, it‘s gotten more and more expensive,” Weinstein said. “If you look at the numbers from where it started, it’s 40, 50 million more than it was when it started. It’s just too much of a risk. It’s not our money, it’s taxpayers’ money. So, the numbers have to be really meaningful and attractive as an investment.”

The same lawsuit was dropped in September when it seemed like the sides would be able to figure something out and continue with the project. But once again, things fell apart.

The city released a document that shows the conditions agreed to in principle by the city and the Trio development team to restart negotiations in September.

That foreclosure lawsuit originally filed in August before being dismissed says SouthEast Development Group owes the city $800,000 in unpaid fines for municipal code violations.

RELATED | ‘Ready to blossom’: Councilman wants Laura Street Trio agreement in place by end of year

Both sides accused each other of negotiating in bad faith.

The city dropped the lawsuit after a different Jacksonville contracting firm joined in on negotiations, which sparked the possibility that a deal could be reached.

Steve Atkins bought the three buildings in 2013 with hopes of redeveloping the long-neglected properties.

The plans included a four-star hotel, close to 170 apartments, a restaurant, a bar, and other entertainment spaces.

The proposed plan would have cost more than $188 million and the expectation was that it could have been completed within two years.

The city released a document that outlines the approvals for the development made over the years.

The trio of buildings are the First National Bank Building, the Bisbee Building and the Florida Life Building.

They were all built between 1902 and 1912 and are among some of the last unrestored structures built during the years immediately following the 1901 fire that destroyed much of downtown Jacksonville.

Steve Atkins and the SouthEast Development Group released a statement after the negotiations ended that reads in part:

Steve Atkins, SouthEast Development Group

Atkins cited a “lack of communication and respect” toward developers, builders, and partners.

He said they’re working with the city council on a formal agreement and legislation by the end of the year.

Atkins said City Council Vice President Kevin Carrico has been given the materials presented to the city and is outlining a term sheet for further discussions. In a press release, Carrico expressed disappointment over the administration’s decision to stop negotiations. The release went on to explain that at the request of the Administration, it had been requested that he “take a step back” over the past eight weeks, hoping Weinstein would secure a constructive outcome.

“This lack of responsiveness shows a troubling lack of commitment to preserving our city’s historic sites,” Carrico said in the statement. “By refusing to set aside the looming threat of a lawsuit, the administration is jeopardizing the project and leaving our historic buildings at risk of further deterioration. A lawsuit should not be weaponized to undermine efforts; rather, it should be waived as part of any city incentive aimed at preserving these landmarks.”

“We look forward to collaborating closely with the Jacksonville City Council and the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown to ensure the success of this transformative project,” Atkins said. “Together, we can bring new life to the Laura Street Trio and honor its legacy at the epicenter of Downtown Jacksonville.”

Read the full statement from Atkins and SouthEast Development Group below.

The Mayor‘s Office responded to Carrico’s statement.

It’s simply inaccurate to imply a lack of engagement. As Vice President Carrico well knows, city negotiators met multiple times with the Trio developer and his lobbying team over the past few months. As outlined in our detailed summary, we considered many different deals during that time. However, every time the developer and his lobbyist moved the goal posts the city’s financial contribution and risk exposure kept increasing. Furthermore, the developer broke the terms of agreement that were in place for the city to remove its lawsuit.”

Carrico went on to say the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown would meet Monday, November 25th, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss deal points and seek a resolution.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

November hurricanes: a rare late-season threat for Florida

JACKSONVILLE, FL – For most Floridians, the last month of hurricane season is typically quiet as cold fronts move in.

However, this November is different.

The unusually warm waters of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico have kept hurricane season active and a new tropical system could threaten parts of Florida a week before Thanksgiving.

While the official hurricane season ends on November 30, the formation of the third named storm has a 90% chance of forming within the next two days.

Currently, a tropical wave near Cuba is expected to interact with a low-pressure system in the southwestern Caribbean known as the Central American Gyre. This should seed the system into a dangerous storm.

This system is forecast to move northward through the Gulf of Mexico by midweek, with potential impacts on the Florida Gulf Coast, the Keys, and western Cuba. The storm, which could be named “Sara,” may bring heavy rain and high winds to these areas by the weekend.

The conditions for storm development are unusually favorable for this late in the season. Sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean are near-record highs, between 84°F and 86°F, which provide the energy needed for rapid intensification.

In addition, wind shear—the change in wind direction with altitude—is expected to be low over the southern Gulf, allowing the storm to strengthen. If the system continues to develop, it could become a major hurricane, similar to Rafael, which reached Category 3 strength last week.

Strong hurricanes in November are rare, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico. However, they do happen. For example, Hurricane Kate in 1985 became the most powerful November hurricane to hit the Gulf, making landfall near Mexico Beach just days before Thanksgiving.

While the storm’s path isn’t yet certain, current models suggest that the storm could curve toward southern Florida or western Cuba, with North Florida less likely to see direct impacts.

For North Florida residents, the risk of a direct hit remains low, as the storm’s path is more likely to affect areas further south. Given the warm waters and favorable atmospheric conditions, it’s likely to become a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea by the weekend.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.