A fire at a mixed-use building along 3rd Street South in Jacksonville Beach left six people displaced Sunday after tearing through apartments and a small business.
No one was hurt in the fire, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The cause had not been determined as of Monday.
For Charles McNinch, the fire took nearly everything.
McNinch lived on the first floor of the building and ran Black Label Tattoo on the second floor.
“I lost my animals. I lost my business. I got nothing now,” McNinch said. He reported losing two cats and a bird to the fire.
But even after losing his home and finding his tattoo shop heavily damaged, McNinch said his focus remained on finding the remains of one of his pets.
“I just got to find my cat, that’s all I care about. I have to find him and bury him,” McNinch said.
The building is three stories tall, with the first floor taking the most visible damage and damage extending into other areas of the building.
McNinch said the problems with the property did not start Sunday.
“From the beginning, I didn’t have heat. There’s been electrical problems. There’s been rodent problems. There’s been holes in my walls from the ceiling,” McNinch said.
The fire marshal’s investigation into what started the fire was still underway Monday. The Jacksonville Beach Fire Marshal’s Office handles fire and life safety investigations and fire code enforcement in the city.
Stacy Rogers lived on the third floor with her husband, daughter, two granddaughters and their dog.
Rogers said her husband went downstairs to take out the trash Sunday afternoon when they heard a boom. She said they then noticed what they believed was the smell of electrical smoke.
Rogers said her husband went toward the tattoo shop while she focused on getting her family out.
“He ran up to the tattoo shop, got everyone out of the tattoo shop. I got my daughters and granddaughters out of our apartment, our dog, we all ran out,” Rogers said.
She said the situation was especially difficult because her husband stayed behind to help McNinch with the animals.
Rogers said the family now has an Airbnb for one week while they try to figure out what comes next.
The American Red Cross is also assisting the people displaced by the fire.
Rogers said the family is trying to salvage what they can from their home.
“We’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna sort through it, and we’re gonna be okay, and we’re gonna pick up the pieces, and we’re gonna move forward,” Rogers said.
McNinch said he is facing a different kind of uncertainty after losing both his home and his business.
“I don’t know where I’m gonna work, what I’m gonna do. I don’t know,” McNinch said. “We’re just trying to salvage whatever clothes we have. It’s just sinking in. It’s processing a little bit yesterday after everything happened.”
Rogers said the family has received help from the community, the Red Cross and their employers as they work through the aftermath.