Photos: Fire at Pavilion on 62nd displaces residents of six apartments
Press release from Gainesville Fire Rescue
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At approximately 12:56 a.m. this morning, Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) and Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) firefighters responded to a commercial fire alarm at the Pavillion on 62nd Apartments, 1000 SW 62nd Blvd.
Firefighters arrived on scene in six minutes and found a working structure fire on two floors of the apartment building. Firefighters immediately began applying water to the fire and searching for victims. A total of 32 firefighters responded to extinguish the fire.
One dog was removed from an affected apartment, treated for smoke inhalation, and returned to the owner. In total, the fire spread to four apartments on two floors of the apartment building. Crews had the fire on the second floor extinguished within three minutes of arrival and had the fire out on the third floor within 46 minutes of arrival. The residents of six apartments were displaced due to the fire. Incident Commander Jeff Schuhmacher credits a fast response and immediate coordinated actions by firefighters for limiting the fire spread and saving the building.
No civilian or firefighter injuries resulted from this fire. The fire has been determined to have been caused by smoking. Cigarettes are the top cause of fatal residential fires in the nation. Cigarette fires kill approximately 800 people annually. One-quarter of victims of smoking-material fire fatalities are not the smokers whose cigarettes started the fire: 34 percent are children of the smokers; 25 percent are neighbors or friends; 14 percent are spouses or partners; and 13 percent are parents.
