Thursday, August 13, 2009
Sad Day For Jacksonville
Yesterday, Jacksonville lost one of its grand homes to fire. The "Bettes Plantation House", built in 1909, had been undergoing restoration over the past two years and caught fire as workers were using a torch to strip paint. We've all seen the local landmark, located in the 3700 block of Ortega Boulevard. To the neighbors, this rambling, antebellum nestled among sprawling oaks was more than just another historic home. It has been home to Easter egg hunts, Christmas parties, debutante balls and a general gathering place for the neighborhood.
No one was hurrt in fire. More than 60 firefighters fought the blaze but in the end, could only contain the fire.
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2 comments:
This is SO sad--absolutely my favorite home in Ortega, and such a grand old lady. (My husband says it's his favorite house in the entire city.) Strangely enough, this is exactly what happened to my sister's former house up in PA--painters using heat guns to strip woodwork ended up setting the roof on fire. A cautionary tale for all . . .
I used a heat gun to strip my house on College Street. It was the fastest way but also the scariest. We eventually found someting called the Silent Paint Remover. That did the trick with UV. It got hot but I wasn't worried about a fire starting behind the walls where I couldn't see it.
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