logo
ATF still investigating Jacksonville International Airport garage fire, structure could be salvaged

ATF still investigating Jacksonville International Airport garage fire, structure could be salvaged

Yahoo28-05-2025
Jacksonville International Airport leaders say it is still too early to determine what will happen to the south end of the Hourly Parking Garage after a fire on May 16 that burned about 50 cars.
Michael Stewart, VP of External Affairs with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, said the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) is treating the third and fourth floors of the garage as a crime scene until they can determine the cause of the fire.
While the ATF conducts its investigations, about 100 cars between the two most impacted floors will have to stay where they are.
'We still have a crime scene area and a structurally compromised area that we cannot get into,' Stewart said.
Once the cause of the fire is determined, that's when Stewart said construction crews can start to work their way through the third and fourth floors, assess the damage, and decide how the structure can be repaired.
PHOTO GALLERY: Parking garage fire at Jacksonville International Airport
RELATED: Jacksonville International Airport Hourly Parking Garage Fire: Timeline of events
Right now, Stewart said there is hope that the structure can be salvaged without demolition, but there is no way to say that for sure until crews make their assessment.
He said the crews have already started to shore up, or reinforce the strength of the structure with beams and columns, on the lower-level floors of the garage.
Stewart touts the success of the airport's efforts to reunite drivers with their cars.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
'Seven hundred vehicle owners were contacted in this process, and the call center made contact with 3,500 people just last week,' Stewart said.
He said there are still about 17 people that the airport has not made contact with, though.
For those people who still need to make contact with airport officials, Stewart said they can:
Go to flyjax.com and supply the information required
Or call 904-741-2710 and leave a message
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Stewart also said that while the airport has made moves to accommodate the parking lapse with the opening of 300 economy lot spots, he's still encouraging flyers to be dropped off instead of parking.
'We are going to be down and challenged with respect to parking, but we have enough parking for people coming to the airport now,' he said.
Stewart said there is no estimated timeline for when the ATF could complete its investigation.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Duke Tobin, Bengals don't agree with advice Shemar Stewart is getting in contract standoff
Duke Tobin, Bengals don't agree with advice Shemar Stewart is getting in contract standoff

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Duke Tobin, Bengals don't agree with advice Shemar Stewart is getting in contract standoff

Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown and director of personnel Duke Tobin addressed a number of topics during the team's annual media luncheon on Monday. The main topics of the day surrounding the contract disputes with Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson and rookie Shemar Stewart. Tobin and Brown made their stance clear and that is they expect both players to be in Cincinnati on Wednesday when training camp begins. Whether or not that happens is to be determined. 'We expect all of our guys under contract to be here,' Tobin said. Shemar Stewart has not signed contract with Bengals It's worth noting that Stewart has yet to sign his contract so he is not yet an employee of the club. He can't report to training camp without a signed contract. With Stewart, Brown and Tobin seemed particularly perturbed on the matter. Tobin, who led the charge in selecting Stewart with the No.17 overall pick, is not happy that his first-round pick has yet to practice. 'I think Shemar needs to be here,' Tobin said. 'I'm not going to blame Shemar. He's listening to the advice that he's paying for (from his agent). I don't understand or believe or agree with the advice. But I'm not the one paying for it. If I thought we were treating him unfairly as it relates to all the other draft picks in this year's draft, then maybe it'd be a different story. But we're not.' Shemar Stewart contract language with Bengals Stewart and the Bengals are at odds over the language Cincinnati wants to add into their contracts pertaining to future guarantees. The Bengals have yet to implement this language in any of their previous first-round picks' contracts and that's why Stewart has refused to sign it. Cincinnati wants to add a clause that would allow the team to be off the hook from paying future guaratneed money to Stewart is he defaults in any of the select categories the team outlines. For Stewart, his side of this argument is that they should get the same language that every other first-round pick in Cincinnati has received. Cincinnati's side of this is they should be able to evolve and change their contracts as they see fit. The majority of NFL teams have the same clause the Bengals are putting in Stewart's contract. They believe what they are asking of Stewart is fair and in line with what the rest of the league is doing. 'It really doesn't make any sense to say that Cincinnati doesn't get to evolve their contracts, yet the rest of the league evolves their contracts,' Tobin said. 'I don't buy into that philosophy at all. Contracts evolve. I've been in it 30 years. They've evolved every year for 30 years. We're not asking for anything anybody else isn't already doing. So, do I feel badly about it? I do not.' The Bengals don't appear to be willing to budge on their stance as they feel it's completely justified. Stewart thinks he's done nothing wrong and has publicly stated his desire to receive a contract that mirrors what the most recent first-round picks in Cincinnati have received. 'It's a very peculiar thing, it isn't about money,' Brown said. 'That's been agreed to for months. It's about the guarantee in the case of if you were to do something contrary to the discipline levels of the league. I don't think that's going to happen ever, but that's what's holding it up. It's never happened as long as I can remember." When Will Shemar Stewart show up to Bengals training camp? In order for this deal to get done and for Stewart to get on the practice field, a compromise needs to be reached. An example of this could be the team offering Stewart a higher percentage of his signing bonus upon signing in return for taking the new language. Typically, the Bengals have paid their first-round pick 50 percent of his signing bonus right away and the rest two months later. To this point, Stewart has yet to receive a concession from the team that would make him feel more comfortable taking the new language. It's unclear if or when either side will budge on the subject and until then, the Bengals and Stewart are both at a disadvantage. Cincinnati has Super Bowl aspirations this season and they drafted Stewart in the first-round to help get them where they want to go. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Duke Tobin, Bengals comments on Shemar Stewart contract standoff

Jon Stewart Delivers Emotional Defense Of Stephen Colbert
Jon Stewart Delivers Emotional Defense Of Stephen Colbert

Buzz Feed

time3 hours ago

  • Buzz Feed

Jon Stewart Delivers Emotional Defense Of Stephen Colbert

Daily Show host Jon Stewart came to the defense of former colleague and fellow late night host Stephen Colbert on Monday after CBS announced last week that it is canceling The Late Show. CBS claimed the move was ' purely a financial decision,' but Stewart wasn't buying it. 'The fact that CBS didn't try to save their number-one-rated network late night franchise, that's been on the air for over three decades, is part of what's making everybody wonder: Was this purely financial, or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger?' he pointed out. Paramount, which owns CBS as well as Daily Show network Comedy Central, is trying to complete a merger with Skydance. That deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the current chair of which was appointed by President Donald Trump, a frequent target of Colbert's jokes who has complained openly about Colbert and other late night hosts. 'Was killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president ― so insecure, suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency,' Stewart said. 'It's a terrible disease.' He said CBS lost the benefit of the doubt earlier this month when it agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump that was widely seen as frivolous. Stewart called that money 'an extortion fee' for Trump. He delivered a stark reminder to CBS. 'The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control ― a not-insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those fucking shows,' he said. 'That's what made you that money. Shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid.' And he warned that trying to make content that will please Trump will prove fruitless given that he turns on even his allies in the media, such as the president's new lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, who owns the paper as well as Fox News. Stewart said there probably isn't a single email or phone call that proves CBS fired Colbert to please Trump. 'I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions at this very moment,' he said. 'Institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our pubic-hair-doodling commander in chief. This is not the moment to give in. I'm not giving in. I'm not going anywhere.' Comedy Central / Via Then he delivered an inspirational message to frightened media companies such as Paramount and any other institution ready to bend the knee to Trump. And he did it in the form of a song, complete with a choir: 'Go fuck yourself.'

WNBA players call initial labor talks with league a ‘wasted opportunity'
WNBA players call initial labor talks with league a ‘wasted opportunity'

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

WNBA players call initial labor talks with league a ‘wasted opportunity'

INDIANAPOLIS — It had been nearly 20 hours since dozens of WNBA players engaged in 'spirited' exchanges and debates with league officials while discussing matters pertaining to ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations ahead of the All-Star festivities. But after having the time to decompress and reflect, the overwhelming sentiment among players Friday was that the pivotal meeting yielded little to no progress. 'To be frank, it was a wasted opportunity,' Women's National Basketball Players Association vice president Breanna Stewart said. 'We could have really kind of gotten into a deeper dive of everything but it was a lot of fluff that we couldn't get past. And it sucks because situations like that aren't going to happen again because players are playing for different teams in different leagues and this is the only time to have a group together.' The union's executive committee met again 30 minutes before Thursday's negotiations to make sure they had their priorities in order. More than 40 players attended, marking the largest turnout in union history for CBA talks. At one point, the room ran out of chairs for players. The WNBPA believes the record turnout was one of the best ways to send a 'strong message' on how serious the collective is about the new CBA. But what transpired over the next couple of hours in the hotel conference room was not exactly what players had expected. Stewart said it appeared some members on the opposite side of the bargaining table were 'shocked' by how passionately players feel about certain issues, especially revenue sharing. Seattle Storm All-Star Gabby Williams felt the league official 'found a very strategic way to spin everything' and compared them to politicians when players raised questions and concerns. 'I don't think they were aware of how much we did understand of their proposal,' Williams said. 'They thought … that they could just impress us with some fancy numbers and some fancy language and not think that we would actually understand what this meant for us as far as revenue sharing and everything. So I think they heard that we're not to be bamboozled.' Paige Bueckers, this year's No. 1 pick, summed up the meeting by saying it went 'not well.' 'Frustrated' and 'hurt' were other words players used to describe how they felt about it. The WNBPA said it sent proposals as early as February to the league but didn't receive an official counter until last month. The delay was maddening, but the WNBA's proposal was even more upsetting. While players have been calling for a better revenue-sharing model, where players' salaries reflect the league's growth each year, the league's first offer showed just how far apart each side is. 'We were disappointed, for sure, in what they came back with,' WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier said. 'It was just nowhere near what we asked for. Or even in the same conversation. We asked for something, they came back with something totally different.' The WNBA hasn't issued an official statement on Thursday's meeting. Cathy Engelbert is slated to meet with reporters ahead of Saturday's All-Star Game. While revenue sharing and increased salaries remain the most pinnacle issues for the union, there are many more things that need to be discussed, including but not limited to player amenities, pension, housing stipends and benefits for mothers. With an extended season, there are also questions regarding league prioritization rules that some players, especially international talents, including Williams, have concerns about. The league repeatedly told the union, 'We hear you' throughout Thursday's meeting. But players don't want to just be heard. They want action. '[WNBPA president] Nneka [Ogwumike] did a really great job of making sure [and] Napheesa [Collier] made it abundantly clear, like, 'This is what we are trying to do, so hear that,' ' Fever star Kelsey Mitchell said. 'They stood on business. And it's important to have those kind of leaders supporting the movement because we just want what we deserve.' There's so much ground that still needs to be covered, but a lot of conversations were left 'unfinished' in the meeting, Stewart said. 'There's a lot to be figured out,' Stewart added. The clock is ticking. The current CBA, which was signed in January 2020, expires Oct. 31. While both parties were hoping to avoid a work stoppage, it's a real possibility given how little headway has been made — so much so that Collier said players are preparing for one. '[A work stoppage] is not what anybody wants. But at the end of the day, we have to stand firm,' Collier said. 'We're not going to be moving on certain topics and so, hopefully, the league comes back quickly so that we can have more dialogue, more conversations and we can get the ball rolling.' There's not another in-person meeting on the schedule yet and Stewart said it's unlikely one would happen before the season ends given the WNBA's game schedule, which added to players' frustrations about how little was accomplished. Stewart said a virtual meeting would be the 'next best thing,' though it's still not ideal. Union executives are expected to meet with league officials again 'soon,' but WNBPA executive director Terri Michael Jackson didn't share any details. While the league and players association may remain at odds as of now, both are committed to creating a fair and transformational CBA that makes sense for all parties involved. 'Both sides want to get this done,' Stewart said. 'But at the same time, we need to have a little bit more of a sense of urgency because if we don't have it figured out by end of season, then we have bigger problems and things to worry about.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store