JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – No one was injured Wednesday morning after Jacksonville firefighters worked quickly to put out a fire at the Ramona Flea Market off I-10, but at least one vendor suffered major losses -- just before the holidays.
"It is a blessing no one was injured. What people don’t realize is that this is their livelihood. It saddens me to see that this is like that. We don’t know the cause or anything at this time," operations manager Barbie Brown said.
The state fire marshal is investigating what sparked a fire that required a "quick response and aggressive attack" from Jacksonville firefighters.
Sky4 video showed that the fire appeared to be contained to one building of the sprawling flea market complex.
Brown said the person who rents the booth that was destroyed lives in Daytona and travels to Jacksonville weekly to sell TVs and stereo equipment at the market, which is open only on Saturday and Sunday.
The flea market is a staple for bargain shoppers in Jacksonville. Some booths have been in business for more than 20 years.
Brown said one of her co-workers was at the flea market when the fire broke out and saw smoke.
"The fire and rescue was here like amazing time, so the damage that could have been done -- what it is now is minimal compared to what it could have been," Brown said.
— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) December 5, 2018
News4Jax tried to speak with the person who rents the booth, but our crew was not allowed on the property for safety reasons Wednesday. The vendor was expected to arrive in town to assess the damage by 6 p.m.
This is the fourth flea market fire in Jacksonville since 2014. The Beach Boulevard Flea Market caught fire in July 2014 and again in August 2017. The Pecan Park Flea & Farmers' Market suffered majored damage in April 2015 when a four-alarm fire ripped through its complex.