JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Authorities are investigating a early morning fire and possible explosion that ripped through a local dental office on Beach Boulevard Friday, leaving behind a metal door at a Starbucks across the parking lot, causing damage to part of their patio fence.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) responded to a commercial fire call at JAX Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, on Beach near San Pablo Road South, at approximately 2:30 a.m.
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The force inside the building was powerful enough to blow a heavy metal door entirely off the building. Investigators later recovered the door across the street at a nearby Starbucks, where it crashed into patio furniture and damaged a metal fence.
By daylight, the aftermath of the scene revealed shattered windows, severely mangled metal framing, and insulation dangling from the charred structure.
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“I wasn’t sure ... looking at the pictures, they were kind of far away,” John Oster, a patient who drove to the clinic after hearing the news, said. “I couldn’t really tell all this was going on, or what the explosion looked like.”
Oster, who had an oral surgery appointment scheduled at the clinic for Monday, stood outside the perimeter in disbelief. With the building heavily compromised. From the outside, most of the damage appeared to be on one side of the building.
“I’ll probably have to find somebody else for right now, yeah, and then I’ll eventually go back when they get it fixed, I suppose,” Oster said, adding that he felt “real sorry to hear about their loss there.”
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While JFRD crews managed to contain the flames and have since cleared the scene, a heavy law enforcement presence remained well into the day. No injuries have been reported.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) joined local police at the site, with federal agents seen documenting the wreckage and taking photographs to determine the exact origin of the situation.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating what the cause could be.
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