The University of Virginia says a fire caused significant damage inside the West Range Cafe, a historic building on the lawn, Sunday night. No one was injured.
The university says a custodian first reported smoke coming from a light fixture around 7:00 Sunday night.
Firefighters had to rip out part of the first floor ceiling to put out the flames. Charlottesville Fire Deputy Chief Britt Grimm said, "What they found was fire in a column and that fire had extended up into the ceiling area between the first and second floor, so the fire department at this point has opened up all of that concealed space they have extinguished all of the visible fire."
Because of the age of the building, there were no sprinklers to prevent the flames from spreading.
A team of university personnel made up of representatives from facilities management, risk management, environmental health and safety, dining and student affairs met Monday to evaluate the damage and plan steps to repair it. The university does not anticipate the repairs will be completed until after the beginning of 2012.
