MANCHESTER - An electrical fire underneath an aquarium in an office early Tuesday morning caused about $25,000 damage to the Exeter Building at Southern New Hampshire University.

Deputy Fire Chief Mark Pelletier said a university security officer called 911 at 4:32 a.m. to report smoke coming from the building.

Firefighters, donning air packs because of the heavy smoke, located the fire in the office and put it out in a few minutes. The fire was declared under control 19 minutes after the initial call.

Pelletier said the sprinkler system activated in the office, which kept the flames from spreading to other areas of the building, including the college's main computer server located across the hall.

Flames, however, were underneath an aquarium which blocked the sprinkler system from extinguishing it.

Nobody was in the office building at the time of the fire.

The Hooksett Fire Department assisted at the scene.