JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax is working to learn what started the house fire that the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said led to two adults and two kids being taken to the hospital on Monday morning.
JFRD tells Action News Jax the fire happened right before 8:00 a.m. at a home on Sherrington Street in the Grand Park neighborhood, a block off of Kings Road.
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Kovarius Jackson lives in the home next to the house that caught fire and called 911 after seeing the flames while taking out the trash. He’s lived in the area since April and said a family of four lives in the home involved in the fire.
“I just heard glass breaking, stuff falling. As it’s happening, I’m like, ‘Whoa. That’s a big fire,’” Jackson said.
Jackson told Action News Jax he remembers seeing the fire quickly spread through the home. He said he saw a woman run out of the home with a baby, then turn around after trying to run back in.
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“The fire was just expanding,” Jackson said, “It was a big fire. I’ve never really seen a fire like that.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and JEA joined JFRD in responding to the house fire. Action News Jax saw JFRD’s hazmat team responding. JFRD said there were no hazmat-specific concerns with this fire, but that the hazmat unit was the closest one to the home when the 911 call came in.
Jackson tells Action News Jax that JFRD told him the fire was caused by something oxygen-related. He couldn’t tell us any more about the conversation, but the National Fire Protection Association has recently reported that there are an average of 228 oxygen-related house fires every year in the U.S., specifically involving oxygen tanks being used for medical reasons.
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JFRD hasn’t shared with Action News Jax a specific cause for the fire, including whether or not any oxygen devices were involved. But regardless of how the fire started, Jackson said he hopes this ends with the family affected being safe and together again.
“I just hope that that family recovers from this. And, you know, I pray God gives protection over them for the rest of their lives,” said Jackson.
None of the people involved in the fire has been identified. JFRD said one adult and one child were taken to the hospital in critical condition, and the other adult and child are expected to recover. We’re still working to learn updates on the condition of the people involved.
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