Regency-area business destroyed by fire

Back of building collapsed; firefighters removed from inside

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Firefighters battled a blaze that destroyed a commercial building in the Corporate Square office park early Friday morning.

Jacksonville Fire-Rescue responded to Advantage Design Group -- a computer service company -- at 1896 Corporate Square Blvd. just before 7:45 a.m. The building is located near the intersection of Southside and Atlantic boulevards.

JFRD spokesman Tom Francis said the business owner arrived for work, opened the door and was confronted by smoke.

When firefighters arrived, fire was coming from the roof of the building, and they encountered thick smoke and flames inside.

Around 7:50 a.m., interior crews were pulled out of the building just before the roof in the back of the building collapsed.

About 40 firefighters continued to work to extinguish the fire from the outside and had the fire under control within 25 minutes.

Francis said the State Fire Marshal would determine the cause and estimate the loss caused by the fire to the 4,000-square-foot building.

"We're talking several hundreds of thousands of dollars," Francis said. "The good news though, if there's any such thing in a situation like this, no injuries (were) reported."