JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Fire and Rescue crews battled through the night as a brand-new luxury apartment building Downtown went up in flames.
The RISE Doro Apartments at 960 E. Adams St. is in the middle of the sports complex, next to the ballpark and arena.
The smoke could be seen for miles billowing across the St. Johns River.
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Timeline
Just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday: A crew laying tile on the ground floor of the RISE Doro building on East Adams Street hears fire crackling above them and leaves the building.
9:30 p.m. Sunday: A security guard calls 911 to report the fire and “big black smoke” at the apartment building. The fire started on the sixth floor and then burned up to the seventh floor.
Around 11 p.m.: JFRD says the apartment building fire is under control.
Shortly after midnight Monday: Fire that was trapped in void spaces of the building’s construction reignites and the roof becomes engulfed in flames. JFRD crews can be seen wrapping around the block as they fight the blaze.
Through the early morning: Firefighters make a “big stand” on the south side of the RISE Doro building to protect surrounding businesses, including two nearby distilleries.
Around 3 a.m.: A closer look at the flames shows crews pouring water on the building from ladders. They dump up to 5,000 gallons of water per minute throughout the night.
8 a.m.: JFRD implements a shift change, bringing in fresh firefighters to replace those who had been working since 9:30 p.m. the night before. JFRD Chief Keith Powers later says they will continue to make shift changes every six hours until the fire is extinguished.
8:30 a.m.: On the east side of the building, in the direction where the wind is blowing, a blowout can be seen in the building with water gushing out of the side of a lower floor.
9 a.m.: Mayor Donna Deegan and JFRD Chief Keith Powers give an update on the massive firefight. One of the top concerns is a possible structure collapse. Both the mayor and fire chief say crews will be battling the fire for days.
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Before 12 p.m.: A floor inside the RISE Doro apartment building collapses, and RISE releases a statement on its website thanking firefighters “for their quick and ongoing response.”
12 p.m.: Deegan, Powers and City Council President Ron Salem hold another news conference, saying the building is unstable and firefighters must continue to put out hot spots from the outside corners of the building. Both the mayor and fire chief say the building had a sprinkler system installed, but it did not activate. The roads around the building will remain closed until further notice.
3:22 p.m.: JEA shares with News4JAX that the utility provided two transformers to the RISE Doro building and both services had final electrical inspections and were connected in early October.
6 p.m.: In a third news conference, Deegan explains that the sprinkler system didn’t activate because it was pending a final pressure check during a fire inspection that was supposed to happen this week. City engineers have determined the building is not structurally sound, which means Intuition Ale Works, Manifest Distilling, and the offices across A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard are in the collapse zone and will be unable to open until the building is demolished.