A roof fire tore through the west side of an assisted living facility on County Road 210 in St. Johns County late Sunday night, forcing crews to evacuate 127 residents while another 83 sheltered in place on the building's east side. One person was transported from the scene and was reported in stable condition, according to St. Johns County Fire Rescue spokesperson Chris Naff.
The fire was reported around 9 p.m. Sunday at 2430 County Road 210, the address of The Blake at St. Johns, according to News4JAX. Firefighters arriving on scene found heavy fire with flames pushing through the roof, Naff told the outlet. St. Johns County Fire Rescue was joined by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, which responded to assist local crews battling the blaze.
The Blake at St. Johns is a 115,000-square-foot senior living community spread across an eight-acre campus, with 118 total residences split between 70 assisted-living apartments and 48 secure memory-care suites, according to Care Changes. The community, originally built for roughly $35 million, includes amenities like an outdoor fire pavilion, a theater, and interior courtyards. The property changed hands just months before the fire, selling for $32.27 million in February when Pensacola-based QSL Management transferred it through Blake at St. Johns LLC, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Evacuation Split the Building in Two
Firefighters evacuated residents on the west side of the building, where the fire and flames had broken through the roof, while residents on the east side were sheltered in place rather than moved outside. The fire was brought under control later that night, roughly an hour after crews arrived, per Naff's account to News4JAX. Officials set up a family reunification area at the scene so relatives could pick up residents directly, and buses were used to relocate residents who did not have nearby family to other facilities.
First Coast News reported that the incident affected approximately 200 people total inside the facility, with the fire causing extensive damage to the chimney and attic on the building's west side, plus water damage from suppression efforts. Displaced residents unable to return to their suites because of the structural and water damage received emergency housing assistance from the American Red Cross and neighboring long-term care facilities, per the outlet's report.
Cause Still Under Investigation
Officials believe the fire was lightning-related, with early indications pointing to a lightning strike that may have hit the chimney. The Florida State Fire Marshal has been assigned to conduct an official origin-and-cause investigation to confirm whether the lightning strike was the sole cause, according to First Coast News. State fire marshals routinely investigate significant fires at commercial and healthcare structures, and no findings have been released yet.
Naff also said that a transported patient's condition was not related to the fire itself, though the individual was in stable condition after being taken from the scene. As of Monday, the story remained developing, with News4JAX reporting that additional details were still emerging from officials on scene.
A Facility Built for High-Acuity Care
The Blake at St. Johns is licensed under Florida Assisted Living License #13939 and holds an Extended Congregate Care designation, which allows 24-hour nursing staff to administer higher-acuity services such as diabetic management and mobility transfers so residents can age in place, per Care Changes. That designation means many of the residents displaced by the fire likely require continuous specialized nursing care rather than a simple hotel stay, underscoring the complexity of relocating them on short notice.
Florida law requires licensed assisted living facilities to maintain onsite backup generators and emergency fuel capable of keeping indoor temperatures at or below 81 degrees for at least 96 hours during power outages, under Florida Administrative Code Rule 59A-36.025, according to Cornell Law School. Those generator mandates were enacted by state lawmakers after 12 nursing home residents died following 2017's Hurricane Irma. Facilities are also required to submit an annually updated Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan detailing evacuation, transportation, and emergency staffing strategies under a separate rule, 59A-36.019, cross-referencing county-specific evacuation routes and receiving facilities.
Lightning-sparked fires are not an unusual hazard in Florida, which recorded the highest lightning density in the nation in 2025 at 305 lightning events per square mile and led the country in lightning-related fatalities, according to the Vaisala Xweather Annual Lightning Report cited by WKMG. Nationally, weather monitors recorded more than 252 million lightning strikes across the U.S. in 2025, an eight-year high.
Recent Pattern of Local Fire Response
Sunday's fire adds to a string of recent blazes St. Johns County Fire Rescue has responded to across the area. Hoodline previously reported on a sprinkler-contained memory care fire in May, as well as a garage fire in World Golf Village in April that hospitalized one resident and a commercial blaze on Doctors Village Drive last October. The county also issued a no-burn alert in February amid heightened regional fire weather concerns.
Whether residents on the damaged west wing of The Blake at St. Johns will be able to return home, and how long repairs to the chimney, attic, and water-damaged areas will take, remains unclear. Officials have not yet detailed a timeline for reopening the affected wing or where longer-term temporary placements will be arranged for residents unable to return.
