A late-night dumpster fire on Heckscher Drive led Jacksonville firefighters to a grim discovery early Monday: a man and a dog dead inside a burned dumpster in the New Berlin area, city officials said. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue crews were called just after midnight, and the remains were found after firefighters knocked down the flames. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has opened a death investigation and detectives are processing the scene.
According to News4JAX, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue said crews responded to a reported dumpster fire at a business on Heckscher Drive shortly after midnight. Once the blaze was out, firefighters discovered the man and the dog inside the dumpster.
JSO detectives are reviewing surveillance video and speaking with witnesses, and officers told News4JAX there were no signs of foul play at that time. The sheriff's office has not released the man's identity, the dog's identity or a cause of death while investigators continue their work.
Scene And Local Context
Heckscher Drive cuts through a mix of port, industrial and recreational zones on Jacksonville's Northside, a corridor where Jacksonville Fire and Rescue frequently responds to fires and marine calls. The department has recently put more resources into the stretch, including a new station project aimed at improving response times near the port, according to the department's website (Jacksonville Fire and Rescue).
How To Help
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email [email protected], per the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office). To report information anonymously, people can call First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
