Information implosion: Police & city leaders knew nothing of FPL explosions

FPL claims contractor notified Jacksonville authorities of implosion plan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A shocking wakeup call for residents of north Jacksonville as Florida Power & Light imploded part of a coal-powered plant around 8 a.m. Saturday.

Houses shook, windows rattled and nearly a dozen fire crews barreled toward the blast at the old Cedar Bay Power Plant.

The scare was due to a planned implosion by FPL.  The problem is that no one seemed to know about it except FPL and the contractor hired to demolish the towers.

It's now turned into a case of who do you believe? 

"I reached out to all the local media yesterday so that you guys would have a heads-up, and I know that some of our demolition team reached out to the community, But I'm not sure of exactly how they did that, but we did reach out to a lot of the neighbors so they would be aware. We know it can be very loud, so we apologize if we took people by surprise," said FPL spokesperson Sarah Gatewood.

Authorities with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said they were never notified of the planned implosions by FPL and dispatched crews to the scene. Fire Chief Kurtis Wilson said the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department was aware in advance of the implosions.

"The JSO Communications Center or the Public Information Unit had no knowledge of any such activity. Officers were sent to the area thinking some sort of explosion occurred due to the calls coming into the JSO Communications Center," said JSO's Melissa Bujeda. 

The mayor's office said it was also unaware of any planned implosion by FPL.

That contradicts what FPL officials said Saturday.

"What we have been able to confirm so far this morning is that our contractor, DCI, notified the fire department on Tuesday, July 31 via email. In addition, they have a permit through the city that required approval from a number of other emergency responders, including the police department and the bomb squad. the contractor also notified adjacent property owners to the Cedar Bay Plant," said FPL spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood via text.

Residents said they were caught off-guard as well.

"I must have seen 11 firetrucks race down the road. I know JFRD (Jacksonville Fire-Rescue Department) couldn't have known about the implosion," said Robert Raines who lives nearby.

Several ambulances and Jacksonville police were also dispatched to the area after the blasts which also left many residents shook up enough to call News4Jax hoping to find out what had happened. 

Above: video of FPL tower demolition; Below: overhead photo of FPL Cedar Bay Power Plant