A small building at 810 NW Eighth Street caught fire Sunday.
The building is leased by the City of Gainesville for Aces in Motion, a free after-school program for middle and high school students in Alachua County, Gainesville Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Hillhouse said.
The Gainesville Police Department responded to the incident at 2:29 a.m. after the building’s burglary alarm went off, according to a Gainesville Fire Rescue report.
The first GPD officer to arrive discovered a fire coming from the northwest corner of the building and called GFR.
Firefighters responded to the fire in less than five minutes.
The first to arrive saw heavy smoke coming from the building and were able to put out the fire after containing it to one corner.
Though the fire was put out within five minutes, the interior of the building endured extensive damage, especially in the kitchen. The outside of the building is still intact.
A total cost of the damages has not yet been determined, Hillhouse said.
Hillhouse said buildings sometimes have a burglary system that dispenses smoke when the burglary alarm goes off, causing the fire alarm to also go off.
Hillhouse said the cause of the fire is still unknown and under investigation. It’s also unclear who or what set off the burglary alarm.
According to the report, there were no injuries.
Contact Jake Reyes at jreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @frlJakeReyes.
