Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Breaking News

Up in Flames: Flagler Beach Holiday Parade Ends with Vintage Car Catching on Fire

ⓒ AskFlagler

Flagler Beach’s highly anticipated Holiday Parade was going great – until a classic antique Jaguar caught fire on A1A just north of Moody Blvd. Things were still overall a fantastic success, dozens of creative parade floats and troupes got to show off their holiday spirit to the residents of Flagler County. And thanks to the quick response of the Flagler Beach Police Department and Fire Department, nobody was hurt in the fire.

The incident happened just south of North 4th Street on A1A, in front of FARO Beachside Eatery. The smoke from the fire rose well above the three-story building it happened in front of.

ADVERTISEMENT

Image courtesy of Jonathan Lord.

Things were going phenomenally with the parade for quite awhile. And that’s what message should be taken away from Saturday’s festivities, that Flagler Beach was host to an amazing showing of community and holiday spirit (stay tuned for an article which covers that more). Most of the vehicles and people had already walked through before disaster struck – it would’ve been truly saddening if the incident had knocked out most of the parade.

Image courtesy of Kathryn Karpinski.

There was a sudden and noticeable pause almost an hour into the event. People started stepping out onto A1A looking north to get a better look. The event emcees then started filling people in on what’d happened, in what almost sounded like a joke at first. But it was clear to see from down the road, there was dark gray smoke billowing up from the road. There really was a car fire, people began to conclude. The hosts asked people not to walk toward the active emergency situation, but the masses still managed to assemble for a better look.

Luckily, the FBPD and FBFD had little issue getting to and extinguishing the fire. FBPD Chief Matt Doughney explained what happened: “Almost toward the end of the parade, an older model vehicle had a problem, maybe with oil. It caught on fire just south of 4th Street. Luckily the occupants got out, and we kept everybody back. The Fire Department came, and put out a fully engulfed vehicle fire right in the middle of the Holiday at the Beach Parade. [It] unfortunately ended the parade for public safety, but there were only four or five vehicles left. I’d rather end the parade the way that we did to ensure public safety than try to move it to an alternate roadway that was not protected by either law enforcement or volunteers.”

“When the initial call came through it was a vehicle smoking,” said FBFD Chief Bobby Pace. “It was flames visible, minor flames. The vehicle became fully engulfed, and […] we had our parade folks that were designated to the parade, we had crews backing coverage, also working out of Station 11, working with Flagler County Station 92. But these crews did an excellent job navigating through all these people. Because this car being central A1A with the hazards it presented, and the harm that could’ve come to folks, the possible structure involved…I’ve said this probably the third time over, I cannot give these fire crews enough credit. They did an excellent job.”

“No injuries!,” agreed Chief Doughney. “Everybody’s leaving, obviously a little disappointed that they didn’t get a chance to see the entirety of the parade, but it was about 95% done. In the grand scheme of things after all the problems we’ve had across the country and the state, the county and the city with Covid, trying to get back to some semblance of normalcy got cut a little short today.”

Arrivederci, Jaguar. ⓒ AskFlagler

Written By

Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. TR

    December 4, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    Just a sad ending to what should have been a memorial event. Hope the owner(s) had antique insurance.

  2. Peaches McGee

    December 5, 2021 at 9:43 am

    That was not a vintage vehicle. It was a replica of a Jaguar.

    • TR

      December 7, 2021 at 2:52 am

      Not according to the article or the news report from that evening.

    • TR

      December 7, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      Not according to the first sentence of the article. “until a classic antique car caught fire” Nevertheless it looks to ma as a total lose.

    • TR

      December 7, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      According to the article it was a classic antique Jaguar. I didn’t say it was a vintage vehicle.

  3. K. Morris

    December 5, 2021 at 10:10 am

    I took a picture of this car, seconds before the fire happened in front of us! Thought it was just a small fire at first, then this…Sad for the owner!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

Community

A of SR-A1A in Flagler Beach will be closed Thursday in order to accommodate the ongoing work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’...

Crime

The Flagler Beach Police Department made a surprising hire this week, bringing on ex-Daytona Beach Shores police lieutenant Michael Schoenbrod. Late last year Schoenbrod...

Community

The City of Flagler Beach issued a precautionary boil water notice to two areas on Sunday due to a repair being performed on the...

Events

The organizers for the upcoming Flagler Beach Centennial Celebration are seeking volunteers to help plan the event ahead of the city’s 100th anniversary. The...

Crime

The Flagler Beach Police Department announced that they’re investigating a ‘suspicious death’ that occurred in the city last week, according to a release sent...