Thanks to the quick actions of a Gainesville teen, an apartment fire on Park Hill Drive was contained to one unit.
Gainesville Fire Division Chief Smith said the fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. at the Versailles Apartments. He said Mauricio Alberto, 17, quickly took action when he smelled smoke.
Alberto told AccessWDUN in an interview he was working on his car in the parking lot of the apartment complex when he smelled the smoke and a neighbor came rushing out of one unit, saying her apartment was on fire.
Alberto said he quickly went into action, and found a fire extinguisher in the breezeway and ran into the unit. He said the stove area was on fire, so he pulled the pin on the extinguisher and went to work.
"I was a bit nervous," said Alberto. "But, that did not stop me from running in there and putting it out."
The teen was also able to rescue a dog inside the burning apartment.
Smith said the fire was contained to the kitchen, causing about $15,000 in damage.
He said it could have been much worse without Alberto's quick response.
"We are very proud of him for what he did today," Smith wrote in a press statement.
Alberto is a recent graduate of Gainesville High School and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.
