Fire roared through a building at the Preferred Pallets Inc. business in west Cookeville last night, causing an estimated $250,000 loss.

Smoke and flames shooting up from a concrete block structure located on the grounds of the business complex on Ridgedale Drive were seen by area residents about 7:30 p.m. and someone called 911.

"We could see the smoke as we left the main fire station," said Cookeville Fire Capt. Daryl Blair.

He said the building which burned was the Preferred Pallets Inc.'s maintenance and welding shop, which contained tow motors, cutting machines, saws, other tools and "of course, sawdust."

The cause of the fire is unknown, but dry conditions and the presence of the sawdust were probably factors in how quickly the fire spread through the building, Capt. Blair said.

"It was fully involved and three quarters of the roof had fallen in by the time we got there," he said.

With that building already mostly gone, the firefighters, who arrived with four engines and an aerial unit, focused on keeping the flames away from other nearby structures and a propane gas tank, he said.

"We were able to keep the fire confined to that concrete building, and nothing else was damaged except some scorching of some pallets," Blair said.

No one was injured.

The firefighters remained at the scene until around midnight, making certain all fire was completely out, Blair said.