No one was injured in a single structure fire on the city’s east side early Thursday evening.
The Jacksonville Fire Department responded to a call of a garage that was on fire at 732 East State Street at 4:47 p.m.
According to the incident report, crews from the main fire station arrived to find an older garage that was fully engulfed in the very rear of the property. No belongings were in the garage and it did not have a roof at the time. Firefighters were able to suppress the fire quickly however most of the structure was destroyed by the blaze.
Fire Department officials say in the report that two residents were cleaning up the old garage when the fire started. One told firefighters that they had been smoking and accidentally left a lit cigarette back there.
No electricity or any other utilities were connected to the garage. The fire was deemed accidental and the building is a total loss. No estimate of damages was available in the report.
Jacksonville Fire Department crews were on scene for approximately 15 minutes.