NAVARRE — An electrical fire destroyed the Taco Bell on U.S. Highway 98 on Friday afternoon, according to Holley-Navarre firefighters.
See a photo gallery of the fire. >>
There were no injuries, Fire Chief Ron Norton said.
A customer alerted the manager after seeing a small fire in the mulch outside the restaurant, Norton said. The manager put out the fire but noticed smoke coming from the building and called 911.
Firefighters responded to the restaurant east of the Navarre Beach Bridge just before 3 p.m. The blaze was contained about 50 minutes later.
An investigator from the Florida State Fire Marshal’s office determined that an electrical short sparked the fire behind Taco Bell’s facade, Norton said. Some embers had dropped onto the mulch outside.
The fire spread from the facade to the attic, Norton said.
About 25 percent of the building was heavily damaged from flames and the remainder sustained smoke damage, Norton said.
“It was a total loss,” he said.
Firefighters from Hurlburt Field, Midway, Escambia County, Gulf Breeze, East Milton, Navarre Beach and Florosa assisted.
