Small fire sparks up at downtown Fort Myers law office

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A power line fell, causing a small fire at a law office at Main Street and Broadway in downtown Fort Myers around 6:30 p.m.

A power line fell onto the building of Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice and Purtz and a transformer blew, according to Florida Power and Light. Up to 500 people were without power from the blown transformer around 7 p.m., according to FPL.

There were people in the building when the power line fell, said Jeff Rice, a managing partner of the firm. Rice said this is the second time a downed power line has fallen on the building risking people’s safety.

By 10 p.m. nine customers, including Indigo Hotel, were out of power, but the fire was out. With the fire out, Rice said the law firm’s building interior is soaked and he worried about important files being ruined.

The power is expected to be out for most of the night, according to FPL.

One block of First Street was shut down as crews worked to put the fire out.