JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is investigating a fire that broke out at an oral surgery center early Friday morning.
Multiple crews responded to JAX Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery on Beach Boulevard near San Pablo Road South to put out the flames and assess the damage.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and the ATF, a specialized national team that helps federal, state and local investigators determine what caused major fires and explosions were also called to the scene.
Several News4JAX viewers who live in nearby neighborhoods said they heard and felt what seemed like an explosion, reporting their homes shook around the time crews were called.
One neighbor and patient, Manny Toledo, said he knows the doctor who works there.
“I know him. He’s a great guy, a great doctor,” Toledo said. “I just hope everything’s well. I’m pretty sure there was no one there, but I just — I just feel sorry for the crew. They were great.”
Not everyone nearby knew what was happening at first.
Some slept through it entirely, others assumed it was a thunderstorm, but for many, the sound and rumble left no doubt that something was wrong.
“Woke me up. All the dogs got really scared and I was just wondering what’s going on. So I just came outside and looked with my girlfriend, and we could see the smokestack,” Taylor Surette, a resident said.
JFRD has not released information on what may have caused the fire or whether anyone was hurt. The investigation is ongoing.
