Firefighters from The Villages helped battle a three-alarm blaze early Sunday morning in Weirsdale.
Marion County Fire Rescue responded to the fire at a fruit packing plant in the 16600 block of South Highway 25 in Weirsdale.
At approximately 4 a.m., Marion County Fire Rescue received multiple 911 calls reporting a large factory building on fire. Engine 27 arrived on the scene at 4:05 a.m. to find a 25,000-square-foot, two-story commercial building with approximately 50% of the structure involved and flames extending through the roof.
Firefighters immediately initiated an offensive fire attack while additional resources were requested, escalating the incident to a third alarm. As fire conditions intensified, crews encountered a partial structural collapse, downed power lines and rapidly changing fire conditions. Incident priorities shifted to protecting nearby homes, adjacent commercial properties and surrounding wooded areas while maintaining firefighter safety.
Additional suppression efforts were supported by crews from South Marion Station 6, Villages Station 10, Shady Station 16, Silver Springs Shores Station 17, Belleview Station 18, Rolling Greens Station 28, Spruce Creek Station 30, Friendship Station 21 and The Villages Public Safety Department. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control and precautionary evacuations of nearby residences, while Duke Energy responded to address compromised power lines.
The fire was declared under control at approximately 5:04 a.m. Firefighters remained on the scene to conduct overhaul operations and extinguish remaining hot spots.
No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.