JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re learning more about how - and when - some travelers parked in the Jacksonville International Airport’s Hourly Garage could get their vehicles back.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority held a conference Monday addressing the fire that damaged 50 cars and shut down the airport on Friday, while also providing some new details on several points of issue.
What caused the fire?
JAA officials confirmed that a vehicle caught fire, and it spread to dozens of others. An exact cause has not yet been released, but officials confirmed it was not a Tesla that started the fire. JAA has confirmed ATF -- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms-- is investigating. They could not confirm yet whether it was an accident or caused intentionally, as the investigation remains active.
The Hourly Garage remains closed and officials confirmed it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. Mark Vanloh, the CEO of JAA, said demolition of the garage is expected in the near future.
Retrieving cars
However, officials are hopeful that people parked in the section of the Hourly Garage that was not impacted will be able to get their cars as early as Wednesday.
“Beginning on Tuesday, you will be contacted if you uploaded your information into the database with your vehicle, your license, and your contact information,” said Tony Cugno, Chief Operating Officer for JAA. “So you will be contacted on Tuesday that you can get your vehicle out on Wednesday and what the orderly process will be to remove those vehicles in the section of the garage that was not impacted by the fire.”
Car owners can submit their information for updates on the airport’s website.
Parking options severely limited
With the South Hourly Garage out of service, that means so are the 600 parking spots inside of it. When asked when the airport may allow cars to park in the 600 north hourly parking garage spots again, airport managers said they were working on it.
“The primary goal right now is to get the vehicles out,” said Cugno. “Then once all the vehicles are out, then we can assess how to return back to normal operations for those 600 spaces.”
Back in April JIA got approved to move forward with a garage expansion that will add over 2,000 additional parking spaces. However, that project won’t be completed until at least December 2026. In terms of a short-term parking solution, JAA says passengers should try to get dropped off if possible – whether its by family, friends, or a ride-share service.
“We will work with the ride share and off-site parking to ensure that there is ample parking and ample transportation to and from the airport,” said Cugno.”
Related: Navigating limited airport parking for Memorial Day weekend? Here are some options
Lack of fire sprinklers
Another thing that was pointed out during the JAA meeting today is that there are no fire sprinklers installed inside the South Hourly Garage.
“The garage is not equipped for fire sprinklers and the reason being is when that garage was built many, many years ago, that was not part of code.”
“The garage is not equipped for fire sprinklers, and the reason being is when that garage was built many, many years ago, that was not part of the code,” said Cugno.
JAA confirmed with Action News Jax that the hourly parking garage was built in 1989. According to the National Fire Protection Association, it wasn’t until 2023 that fire sprinkler systems were required in new parking garages.
Cugno did note that there are fire extinguishers as per code that are mounted on the wall inside the hourly parking garages.
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