10 the little sentinel, Sunday, August 5, 1979 S A Peter Larson/the little sentinel Firefighters leave after containing a two-alarm fire which started in the building garage at right. Fire starting in Old City Hall destroys Longwood history By PETER LARSON Part of Longwood's history went up in smoke last week when fire damaged the century-old wooden building that once served as the city's school house, city hall and fire house. "We put a lot into remodeling the building," said Donna Pratt, owner of the historic building known as Old City Hall, 309 Wilma. "If the damage wasn't too great, maybe we'll fix it up again. I can't say right now." Longwood Fire Chief Charles Chapman said fire broke out Tuesday on a garage storage shelf. Firefighters battled the two alarm blaze for 45 minutes as fire spread to the attic, wall and ceiling spaces of the structure. Seminole County firefighters James Walsh, 28, and Richard Cabot, 21, suffered smoke inhalation during the fire and were treated at Florida Hospital, Altamonte. Two employees who were in the building at the time of the fire escaped without injury. Built in the early 1880s, the wood frame building was Longwood's first school house. In 1924, after a new school was built, the city acquired the building for use as a City Hall and fire house. The city abandoned the building in 1954 after constructing a new city hall and fire house. Longwood residents Donna and Tom Pratt purchased the building in 1971 as office space for Gringo's Mexican Restaurants, a company with stores in Winter Park, Tampa, Daytona and Orlando. The Pratts restored the building and created an antique school room in the foyer entrance. In 1976 the building was included among the historic Longwood sites on Florida's Bicentennial Trail. Gringo's secretary, Chris Rhone, said she discovered the fire after hearing a crashing sound in the garage. "I screamed for Roy (another employee) to get out of the building then I called the fire department," Rhone said. Fire officials say the building suffered extensive damage to the garage and part of the attic. One of two antique cars stored in the garage, a 1947 Buick convertible, was also damaged by fire. Fire inspector Raymond J. Pippin said the county is investigating the cause of the fire.