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Gainesville Fire Rescue responds to back-to-back fires

Press release from Gainesville Fire Rescue

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Early this morning, Monday, March 4, 2024, Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) firefighters were called for two working building fires back to back.

Firefighters responded to an apartment fire in the area of 6000 NW 26th Street, just before 6:04 a.m.  Firefighters arrived on scene in just under five minutes and immediately began extinguishing the fire and searching for victims. The 27 firefighters who responded had the fire extinguished within 4 minutes of arrival. Building damage was limited mostly to the apartment of origin. Damage to an adjacent apartment was minimal. No civilian or firefighter injuries resulted from this fire. Two neighbors were displaced. The fire is under investigation. 

While firefighters were finishing up at the first fire, a second multi-family residential building fire was reported at 6:23 a.m. near the 3000 block of NE 28th Drive (GRACE Marketplace). Firefighters arrived on scene in six minutes to find the building full of smoke and immediately began efforts to locate the fire and search for victims.  

Prior to the arrival of firefighters, the building’s fire sprinkler system controlled fire growth, allowing occupants time to escape and limiting building damage. The 27 firefighters who responded completed extinguishing the fire within 10 minutes of arrival. The fire caused minimal damage to the building. One civilian suffered a very minor injury, and no firefighter injuries were reported. Ten neighbors were displaced. 

The fire appears to have been caused by several charging battery packs.  Fires caused by batteries and battery chargers are a growing problem. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you avoid charging a device under a pillow, on a bed, or on a couch, and do not keep charging the device or battery once it is fully charged.

  • I have mad respect for ACFR. 🙏👍
    Thanks for your help, support, and service.

    • I completely agree! ACFR is amazing, and always do such a wonderful job.

  • Heroes running toward danger to protect the rest of us! Thank you, GFR!

  • Ditto the thanks to GFR. But their PR is a somewhat unclear. I gather that the last 2 paragraphs refer to the incident on NW 26th St, so we learn very little about the GFR call to Grace Marketplace.

    • That is by design. The county doesn’t want the citizens to know too much of what happens over there.

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