MIDDLEBURG | A pall hung in the air with the acrid stench of smoldering ruins as Clay County firefighters hosed down hot spots in what once was a landmark family business.
Thomas Roark just shook his head in disbelief as he stood alongside other employees straining to see what might remain of their livelihoods at Hagan Ace Hardware — just a few hours after the fast-moving fire swept through the store at 1022 Blanding Blvd.
Roark and other employees, as well as customers, all got out uninjured when the fire started about 6:45 p.m. May 23 as the store was preparing to close.
“We saw smoke and somebody said, ‘is that smoke or water? So I went and looked and I said ‘call 911!’ … I knew we had to get everybody out,” he told the Times-Union and his co-workers.
He described a harrowing escape as the flames roared to life.
Flames erupt at Ace Hardware after employees smell smoke
Roark, who’s worked there for almost a year, said he was out getting ready to close up the garden shop when he realized the building was on fire.
The whole left-hand corner near the double doors leading between the back warehouse and the main building “was just blazing, really blazing.” Nonetheless, he and others tried to fight the fire, he said.
“I said ‘get the fire extinguishers,'” Roark said. “… But it was too late. It was in the ceiling. And I said ‘just get everybody out.’ I jumped on the forklift and drove it out cause I knew it would blow.”
A co-worker, James Andolina, told the Times-Union he normally would have been working at the store that day but was off. He came out the following morning to check on co-workers and see the destruction for himself.
“It’s devastating for everybody,” said Andolina, who’s worked there nine years helping carry out their purchases, stocking shelves and otherwise doing what needed to be done.
Roark said he thinks the fire might have started in a wall.
Firefighter injured in Ace Hardware blaze
Clay Fire Rescue ladder trucks are utilized to tackled a fire from higher angles at Hagan Ace Hardware in Middleburg on May 23, 2025.
A Clay County firefighter was in stable condition after being hospitalized for unspecified injuries, Clay County Fire Rescue officials posted in an update on social media the morning after.
Although Clay firefighters arrived within three minutes, the blaze had already engulfed much of the building and was gaining strength quickly.
Crews, including personnel from Jacksonville, Orange Park and Naval Air Station Jacksonville got the blaze under control just after midnight.
Blanding Boulevard — a major thoroughfare through Clay County — reopened about 8:45 a.m. after being shut down in both directions overnight as firefighters remained on scene to douse hot spots.
The Florida Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating. The cause wasn’t immediately known.
Neither a damage estimate nor details about how long the store might be closed were available May 24.
Landmark hardware business
A day after Hagan Ace Hardware went up in flames at its Middleburg store and headquarters, Clay County firefighters continue to hose down hot spots toward the back of the building May 24, 2025.
The hardware store, on its website, said that due to the fire, the Blanding Boulevard store is temporarily closed. It directed customers to one of its other local stores.
In addition to being a hardware store, the Blanding location is the corporate headquarters.
Hagan Ace Hardware is a fourth-generation business. Its founders Don and Ann Brandies Hagan, who were born and raised in Callahan, began their careers in the hardware business at Brandies Hardware, according to the company website.
In 1962 the Hagans purchased a small hardware store in Hilliard, then in 1964, they joined the Ace Hardware cooperative. Over the years, the steadily grew the business.
Hagan Ace Hardware currently has 11 Northeast Florida locations: Callahan, Hilliard, Glen St. Mary, Mandarin, Orange Park/Middleburg, St. Augustine, Anastasia, East Palatka, Green Cove Springs and Yulee.
In 1990 Don Hagan officially retired. He passed the torch to his son Bill, who is now the owner of the company, according to the website.
In 2005 Bill’s son Jacob became part of the company. He is director of store operations for, the website shows.
The Hagan family plans to rebuild, Tara Lageman, director of marketing and advertising for Hagan Ace Hardware, told the First Coast News, the Times-Union’s news partner.
Lageman also said the family appreciates “the outpouring from the community,” and “We’re thankful everyone is going to be OK,” First Coast News reported.
Not the first major Clay County fire
Firefighters were dousing hot spots a the back of the building in the aftermath of the May 23, 2025, massive fire at Hagan Ace Hardware, 1022 Blanding Blvd. in Clay County.
The Hagan Ace Hardware fire was one of the worst in recent memory in Clay County. But there have been other major fires.
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A popular Middleburg breakfast, brunch and lunch diner was damaged severely in a January 2022 fire. The fire was believed to have been sparked by an electrical issue in the kitchen. Grumpy’s Restaurant rebuilt and reopened in the 1800 block of Blanding.
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A January 2018 blaze left 15 people including three children homeless as it roared through an apartment building at 1800 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. The Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire accidental.
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A New Year’s Eve 2010 fire destroyed three businesses at an Orange Park office complex at 1532 Kingsley Ave. It resulted in an estimated $1 million in damage. No injuries were reported. The cause, as determined the next day by the Orange Park and state fire marshals’ offices, was an electrical short.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Employee describes escape from Hagan Ace Hardware fire in Clay County
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