The fire was put out around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and did not impact the game scheduled at noon.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Early Wednesday morning, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department was called to VyStar Ballpark due to a minor fire in a trash can that started around 3:45 a.m.
Firefighters reached the location at approximately 4 a.m. and used a ladder to access the stadium’s second level, where the grills were located. They spent about half an hour ensuring the fire was fully extinguished.
“The fire appears to have been started in a trash can and was contained to that trash can,” the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp said in a statement.
The Jumbo Shrimp played a game on Tuesday night and continued with their schedule, hosting another home game on Wednesday at noon, despite the small morning fire at the stadium.
First Coast News got a close look of the aftermath of the fire, where you can see the ground and walls behind a food service stand by the 117 section scorched. This area is now closed off to fans temporarily.
JFRD Captain Eric Prosswimmer said an obstacle the crews faced was access to the fire, as they did not want to cut the locks and leave the building unsecured after putting the fire out.
“You had an engine show up for a trash fire, and they needed some assistance gaining access because they didn’t want to cut locks or anything like that, so they called for a ladder,” he said.
The Jumbo Shrimp said no employees or fans were on site at the time the fire started. And JFRD reported none of the firefighters who responded were hurt while battling the flames.
