‘She was telling everyone to wake up and get out:’ Apartments catch fire on Jacksonville’s Southbank

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A fire broke out at an apartment building early Wednesday morning, displacing multiple people, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

JFRD Chief Robin Gainey said the intense fire broke out on Reed Avenue near Alamo Street, just after 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Seven people, who live in the building that contains four apartments, were able to safely get out before firefighters arrived.

“I woke up this morning and heard a lady screaming outside. She was telling everyone to wake up and get out, so that’s what I did. I woke them up. So we just got out and the firefighters were out here,” Kaiya Brown, a visitor at the complex, said.

JFRD was able to get the fire quickly under control. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion and was placed under observation for one hour.

The Red Cross is helping the seven people who now are without a home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No one at the building was hurt, according to JFRD.

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Apartment fire on Reed Avenue

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