Crews will monitor a smoldering fire through the night after more than 100 firefighters battled flames at the Badcock Furniture store in Orange Park on Saturday.
The building on Kingsley Avenue is considered a major loss, according to officials.
Forty-eight units from Jacksonville and Clay counties fought to put out the flames beginning around 1 p.m.
Ronald Bridgman said he was driving down Kingsley Avenue when he saw the flames.
“The whole back half of the building was in flames and they were taller than the building,” he said. “It was bright orange flames.”
Exclusive video shows crews fighting the blaze as it burned inside the store.
A man tells Action News Jax he walked out of Orange Park Medical Center and saw the store on fire.
He said the smoke was so thick it burned the inside of his nose.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department sent several units to help Clay County Fire Rescue fight the flames. They worked to put out the fire for several hours, and it was still smoldering around 4:30 p.m.
The building next door suffered minor smoke damage.
“The building that was on fire was just feet from the building that was next to that,” said Deputy Chief David Motes with Clay County Fire and Rescue. “The firefighters were able to keep that from extending to that next building.”
Officials said heat was a major factor. Two firefighters had heat-related illnesses but units worked in shifts to prevent any major heat exhaustion.
Motes said the fire started in the rear of the building and doesn't seem suspicious.
The state fire marshal is investigating its cause.
Trending on ActionNewsJax.com: