Tractor Fire Causes Alarm at Florida Football Stadium

A maintenance tractor caught fire at the University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air and causing alarm on social media.

USA Today reports that the blaze was extinguished on the building’s third floor, and that no injuries or structural damage to the stadium were reported.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is on Fire. On Stadium Road. #gainesville #uf #florida #gators pic.twitter.com/zn34zVX3QU

— Doves Cry Too (@dovescrytoo) September 12, 2020

Florida head coach Dan Mullen took the opportunity to make a joke, writing on Twitter, “You know the Gators are gonna be on fire this year. But we still have 2 weeks til kickoff.”

You know the Gators are gonna be on fire this year. But we still have 2 weeks til kickoff.

— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) September 12, 2020

The incident is not expected to impact Florida’s football season — which begins on Sept. 26 when the Gators travel to Mississippi. The home opener is Oct. 2 against South Carolina.