Fire At A Florida Airport Destroys More Than 3,500 Rental Cars

A massive fire that spread across 15 acres of land destroyed thousands of rental cars at a Florida airport.

According to CNN, the fire began Friday, quickly blazing through a grassy area of Southwest Florida International Airport.

Around 5 pm, when officials were called, the fire had set ablaze 20 vehicles in the rental car overflow area. However, by the time the fire was put out, more than 3,500 cars were destroyed.

“By the time we had units on the scene, we had 100 cars (on fire). We lost count after the hundreds,” Melinda Aveni, Mitigation Specialist of Florida Forestry Service of Caloosahatchee, said.

According to the publication, at least 80 airdrops were made by the Charlotte County Sherrif’s Office’s aviation unit, in an attempt to contain the fire. Nearly 18 hours later, the forestry service deemed the fire contained.

No structures were damaged in the incident, and no injuries have been reported. But in the meantime, the cause of the fire is under investigation.

“We appreciate their courage and willingness to help our Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting department,” the airport said in a statement to all agencies involved with the fire. “Together, they were able to keep all our passengers and airport visitors safe.”