Video: Generator explodes, starts fire at RV City ahead of Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A fire broke out Thursday night at RV City in Jacksonville, a place where fans tailgate before the annual  Florida-Georgia game, which is this weekend.

Video shows flames shooting into the air. Multiple posts on social media say it was a RV generator that exploded.

A police officer with a fire extinguisher arrived first at the fire, attempting to put it out, before firefighters responded.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said no one was hurt and there was minimal property damage.

Action News Jax spoke to a witness who ran toward the fire to make sure his grandchildren and others nearby were safe. Click here to watch or view in the above media player. 

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Action News Jax  is looking into what sparked the generator fire in RV City.

No one was hurt, but witnesses reported seeing  flames shooting 100 feet into the air.
Richard Edmonds says this was a sight he had not seen before in all the years he's been coming to RV City prior to Florida-Georgia matchups.

"When it went off, it was a boom," Edmonds said.

The explosion was so loud he ran outside.

That's when Edmonds saw the fireball and realized his grandkids were playing nearby.

"You know how they're all playing and there was a lot of kids over there playing, and of course, we were trying to get everybody out of the way because of what could of happened," he said.

In one photo sent to us by a viewer, the flames came dangerously close to a Gatorss flag on the generator owner's RV.

In another photo we received the flames narrowly miss a police officer and he ran to grab a fire extinguisher.

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Action News Jax spoke with the family that owns the generator off-camera and they tell us they're not sure what started the fire, the generator was only three years old.

They said when they walked outside they saw the flames shoot up to this overpass.

With the crowds of people in RV City Thursday night, Edmonds tells us the fire could have been much worse. 
"They did get everything under control and nobody got hurt, that's the main thing," Edmonds said.

According to the official rules and regulations for RV City, small generators are allowed, but must fit in the given campground space and must be positioned so fumes do not reach other campers.

To keep everyone safe, if you see anything suspicious or something that could be dangerous, police ask that you tell an officer, call 911 or the non-emergency number 904-630-0500.

Cox Media Group