About half the building was consumed by fire, which took 1 1/2 hours to contain.

A fire broke out at Smiley’s Antique Mall in Micanopy Monday morning, destroying much of the building.

According to Harold Theus, deputy chief of the Alachua County Fire Rescue, the fire was first reported by a phone tip at 7:06 a.m. Monday. Callers reported that smoke was visible from the roadway.

Theus said the fire broke out on the east side of the building, and quickly consumed about half of it. The fire was prevented from reaching the west side of the structure by a dividing wall.

About half of Smiley’s 20,000-square-foot building, located at 17020 County Rd 234, was destroyed.

The fire took approximately 1 1/2 hours to contain. Theus described the blaze as “very difficult to put out” due to limited access into Smiley’s and the significant amount of flammable materials inside the mall. Fire rescue workers were forced to cut holes in the building’s metal siding in order to enter and ventilate the structure.

According to ACFR, numerous fire crews used a "dump truck operation" to get water to the location, because of a lack of fire hydrants.

According to Theus, no one was inside Smiley’s when the fire started, and there were no known injuries. A total of 21 firefighters from Alachua County Fire Rescue and Micanopy Fire Rescue responded to the scene.

Ben Campen, owner of Smiley’s Antique Mall, said fire rescue workers were already on the scene when he arrived, and that he has “nothing but praise” for their work.

Campen said his first priority in responding to today’s events will be to make sure that the people who sell antiques at his mall are protected.

“It affects not only us, as owners of the mall, but it affects quite a few of the 200 dealers that have shops within the mall. That’s what really concerns me,” he said.

Looking toward the future, Campen said he isn’t sure what he’s going to do, moving forward.

“Quite honestly, I’m in a little bit of shock,” he said.

The fire's cause is still unknown, pending an investigation from the fire marshal.