A car fire last Thursday caused an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 in damage to the Fine Arts Parking Garage at the University of North Florida, according to a police report.
An information report from UNF police states the university’s Physical Facilities department estimated the damage between $30,000 and $40,000. The fire left black smoke marks on the concrete directly above where the car was parked, according to the information report. The garage lights around the car were broken due to the fire.
On Feb. 6, UNF students saw Servepro, a damage restoration company, cleaning up the garage.
The blocked off area in the parking garage following the fire was fully reopened on Monday evening, according to Salena Laws, director of UNF Parking and Transportation Services.
What Happened?
A car fire was reported last Thursday in the Fine Arts Parking Garage on the UNF campus.
Firefighters and campus police responded quickly to the vehicle fire on Feb. 5, and no students were harmed. Students parked in the garage could remove their vehicles and leave once an all-clear message was issued, indicating it was safe to enter.
The exact model of the car was a 2009 Ford Edge, according to the information report. At 9:18 a.m., the fire had begun less than ten minutes after the car was parked in the garage. By 9:22 a.m., campus police had arrived and attempted to put the fire out with portable fire extinguishers, but could not stop the fire.
UNF Police Chief Frank Mackesy said that when first responders arrived on the scene, the car was already in flames.
“I mean, the car was burned into a crisp. But the fire department got there and put that out pretty quick,” Mackesy said.
According to the information report, there were seven cars near the Ford Edge during the fire. None of the other cars around the fire received significant damage, according to Mackesy.
Christian Rosa, a UNF senior, saw the fire on his way to class last Thursday. He described the sight as “crazy,” because firefighters on the scene had not yet been able to put the fire out.
Rosa said it appeared the firefighters were trying to determine how to reach the fire because the fire trucks didn’t appear to fit in the garage.
“It was kind of crazy, because nothing was being done at that moment. I didn’t know how long it was on fire for,” Rosa said. “It was just one of those [fires] that just kind of started.”
Rosa said that by the time he returned from class, the car was already removed from the garage.
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