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Truck carrying hairspray catches fire at Gainesville business
Driver OK; firefighters still investigating cause of blaze
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Firefighters put out a blaze in a tractor-trailer at LaserCraft Technologies. - photo by Tom Reed

Gainesville firefighters are trying to determine what caused a tractor-trailer filled with hair spray cans to catch fire at a business Monday.

The vehicle was backed up to the dock area at LaserCraft Technologies at 1233-B Palmour Drive when the fire started, Fire Chief Jon Canada said.

The driver of a forklift near the truck, noticing the fire, jumped off his vehicle.

"The tractor-trailer driver was able to jump into the truck and pull (the vehicle) away from the building," he said. "... And he jumped out of the truck."

Upon arrival, firefighters found the tractor-trailer engulfed in flames, smoke pouring into the sky.

"That fire was close enough to a grassy area that
had caught on fire, spreading to brush and a wooded area behind the building," Canada said. "So we had two things to deal with. There was no fire inside the building."

Also, "there were multiple explosions" from the cans inside the truck.

No was injured throughout the ordeal.

"We did have medical personnel on the scene that evaluated the driver of the trucker and the forklift ... and they're both OK," Canada said.

The only damage to the building was to a roll-up door on the dock area, he added.

Firefighters responded to LaserCraft at 12:04 p.m. and were able to put out the blaze in about 50 minutes, Canada said.

About 100 people in the business were evacuated, he added.

LaserCraft is a sheet metal company housed in a 117,000-square-foot building, according to its website.

Also, authorities blocked traffic at Palmour Drive and Palmour Place.

The truck didn't belong to LaserCraft. Canada said the fire is still under investigation.