Hourly garage at JAX closed indefinitely after structural damage confirmed following fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A major fire that shut down Jacksonville International Airport on Friday afternoon left structural damage in the hourly parking garage, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority confirmed to News4JAX.

The extent of the damage is unclear, but sources told News4JAX that it’s possible a beam partially collapsed.

“We don’t have the specific numbers, but we know there was damage to the garage,” JAA’s Michael Stewart said. “We’re not reporting any injuries. The fire is under control, but the airport is closed.”

A News4JAX viewer captured video of flames roaring through an opening on the third floor of the hourly garage, and dark smoke could be seen billowing into the air from a SkyCam at the airport.

The fire broke out around noon, and firefighters had the blaze under control by about 1:30 p.m.

The JAX website listed the hourly garage as 90% full around the time the fire started.

With the airport closed and the garage structurally damaged, it’s unclear when drivers will be able to retrieve their cars from the garage.

The other garages at the airport were accessible around 2:30 p.m., but the hourly garage was still closed.

When the top floor of a parking garage at St. Vincent’s Riverside on King Street partially collapsed in 2023, it remained closed for more than a year.

That collapse left first responders scrambling and more than 100 cars trapped for days. No one was hurt in that collapse either.

Aviation expert Ed Booth said the JAX garage incident reminds him of what happened at the hospital.

“The people that are trying to get their cars may have to wait days, if not weeks,” Booth said. “There are questions regarding the structural integrity of the parking garage, and it’s likely no one’s going to be allowed to go in there for quite some time.”