by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Buckets of paint. Boxes of ceiling tiles. Yards of carpet. Hours of air purification.
That’s been the story for the past two weeks on the first floor of City Hall following a small fire that started in a kitchen area near a training and meeting room on March 17.
The building’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the flames, but the damage caused by the water and smoke extended to adjacent hallways and offices and all the way to the elevators in the atrium.
“Everything worked exactly the way it’s supposed to,” said City Building Engineer Bill Dekle.
The fire started in a microwave oven in the kitchen area of the newly dedicated Lynwood Roberts Room and was contained there. That area received the most damage and everything in the space was either destroyed or too damaged to salvage.
Mayor’s Office spokesperson Misty Skipper said the cabinets, counters, appliances and even the sink will have to be replaced, in addition to installing new ceiling tiles and floor covering as well as cleaning the ductwork.
The hallway adjacent to the room that connects the Hogan Street corridor with the Office of Juvenile Justice has gotten new ceiling tiles and a fresh coat of paint. That area may also require new carpeting if the smoke odor can’t be eliminated.
The Duval County Legislative Delegation Office has been temporarily relocated upstairs to the Office of General Counsel until the smoke odor is eliminated with air circulators.
The polished granite floor in the atrium was partially flooded by the sprinklers and is discolored because the naturally porous granite absorbed some of the water. Dekle said there is no permanent damage to the granite and it will return to its usual shade.
“How long that will take depends on the temperature and the relative humidity,” he said.
According to Dekle, it’s fairly common for granite to change shades depending on its moisture content. Dekle said he has worked in the building “since we turned the switches on.” He said he remembers when the floor was originally installed and had the same discoloration effect due to moisture, and “It took almost a year for it to dry out.”
Skipper said the City is self-insured for small casualty losses like this one and the funds for the restoration will come out of the public buildings budget. She also said as of March 31, the cost of the repairs totaled $19,000 but that figure could increase if it is determined more carpet or other materials must be replaced.
Photos by Max Marbut