Quote(https://photos.moderncities.com/History/Jacksonville-in-Flames-Great/i-nd6WShd/0/L/JF-Col%20Lovell%20and%20staff%20at%20headquarters-L.jpg)
In just over eight hours on May 3, 1901, a small fire, started in a LaVilla mattress factory, would sweep through 146 city blocks of Jacksonville, destroying over 2,000 buildings, taking seven lives, and leaving almost 9,000 people homeless in the process. This tragic event would eventually be known as the Great Fire of 1901, the third largest urban fire in American history behind the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Chicago Fire of 1871.
Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jacksonville-in-flames-great-fire-of-1901/
I have friends in the Gilmore family who tell stories that Gilmore fishing boats went downtown to aid in the evacuation of downtown.
My Firefox browser warns me about security issues with the website link in the article about the Great Fire. I don't know if FF is being too picky, but I'll pass.