JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville firefighters battled a massive fire for hours Tuesday morning at a Northside recycling facility that focuses on vehicle tires.
Atlantic Can Inc., which is on the southeast corner of the I-295 junction with Main Street, recycles construction products and provides waste tire removal, demolition and other recycling services.
The fire was first reported around midnight and firefighters worked overnight trying to put it out.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Capt. Eric Prosswimmer explained that because tires burn hot, they can be very difficult to extinguish, and the property is about 3-4 acres, which could mean long hours ahead for firefighters.
“When this rubber gets going, it’s very difficult to put out. You can put copious amounts of water on it, but it burns deep and it retains that heat,” Prosswimmer said. “It burns very hot and produces a lot of dark black smoke so anybody driving by who sees dark black smoke, that’s what it is.”
That smoke is definitely a concern for those living nearby.
“The issue that we’re dealing with right now is that we’ve been very fortunate with the winds. It’s not a very windy day,” Prosswimmer said, adding that no evacuations are planned at this time. “If the wind shifts, that’s another matter that we want to deal with. This isn’t smoke that you want to inhale.”
WATCH: Press play below to see Prosswimmer’s full live interview on The Morning Show
The thick plume of dark smoke carried a charred odor as it billowed from the scene, causing concerns about air quality.
“We definitely want to stay on top of what’s happening with it just to make sure nobody is impacted around,” said City Councilman Mike Gay, who represents the area and was out at the scene Tuesday morning. “There are some homes to the east of it, so it’s really being alert, everybody staying tuned in to what’s going on for any kind of emergency alert.”
Another issue on the property is that there were no fire hydrants near the facility, so crews have been having to shuttle water from a nearby apartment complex and other areas. They had five tankers on scene overnight and were also drafting water from a lake on the property, Prosswimmer said.
“It’s manpower intensive because we’ve got people doing a lot of stuff. They’re spread out. They’re taking care of the water situation,” Prosswimmer said.
He said crews have surrounded the fire the best they can but that they will probably be at the scene for “a while,” possibly days.
“Every time we turn the water back off, it tends to flare back up because of the heat that’s emitted,” Prosswimmer said.
Prosswimmer said a large tractor and generators on the property have also been destroyed. He said because of the nature of the fire, it could be difficult to determine a cause once it’s out.
Gay commended the JFRD crews as they continued to work for hours to extinguish the fire.
Prosswimmer said there was a shift change around 7 a.m. and that crews would be reevaluating the situation and whether they should use foam on the fire.
“We’re doing the best we can. We’re working tirelessly. These guys have been working literally all night long,” Prosswimmer said. “If the wind shifts and the smoke’s coming your way, try to avoid it at all possible costs.”