The City of Jacksonville hits Phase 3 of its cold weather plan when the temperature hits 28 degrees.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is one place in Jacksonville where anyone can go to get away from the cold.
For the third time in a week, the temperature got cold enough to open a warming station at the Legends Center on Jacksonville’s Northside.
“You just never know how many lives you’ve saved,” said Jacksonville Emergency Preparedness Chief Andre Ayoub. “Four lives, three lives – that’s equally as important as 100 people going to the shelters.”
Ayoub says a cold front prompted the city to open up a warming center at the Legends Center for the third time in 2024 Saturday night.
Seven people used it to get out of the cold Tuesday and Friday night.
“We had someone go there at 1:15 a.m. in the morning,” said Ayoub. “Tuesday, we had someone go there at 1:30 in the morning. That just shows you the level of importance.”
Ayoub says the city opens the center to anyone who needs heat – regardless of their situation.
“It’s not just the homeless,” Ayoub said. “We have our seniors, our pregnant females, our youth, our special medical needs population in Jacksonville.”
The Legends Center will become a warming station any time the forecast is set to get down to 28 degrees or colder.
For anyone toughing it out at home, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department has some recommendations for warming up safely.
“If you’re going to use a space heater, make sure everything around it is cleared away,” said Jacksonville Fire Rescue Spokesperson Eric Prosswimmer. “Make sure it’s on solid ground, not somewhere a pet or a child can knock it over and create a fire.”
The silver lining with all of this: warmer weather is on the way.
“That was a joy to my heart when I heard the National Weather Service say it’s going to warm up this week,” Ayoub said. “That’s a good thing for all of us in Jacksonville.”
The warming center will be open until 11 a.m. Sunday morning, when Ayoub says the windchill is expected to finally die down a bit.
They’ve got warmth, water and blankets, but anything else folks need to get through the night they’ll have to bring with them.
