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ATTLEBORO - A two-alarm fire this morning caused $500,000 damage to James H. Sullivan Courthouse on North Main Street and closed the court temporarily for the week.

All new court business will move to Taunton District Court, 120 Cohannet St., Taunton, for the rest of the week, state court officials said in a press release. Criminal and civil cases previosly scheduled this week will be continued. Court officials say they will notify criminal defendants and parties in civil cases by summons or mail.

Attleboro Juvenile Court business will be conducted in Taunton Juvenile Court.

Jurors who were scheduled to be in Attleboro are being asked not to report for jury duty.

Further scheduling updates will be announced this week as necessary, state court officials said. The fire was reported about 6:30 a.m. and contained to the second floor civil magistrate's office which was gutted by the blaze. There was extensive smoke and water damage to the reaminder of the second floor.

The two windows in the second-floor office, where the fire apparently started, were blackened. Police closed off North Main Street between Hayward and Mechanic streets until 1 p.m.

The court, which normally opens at 8:30 a.m., was closed today as a result of the fire.

Attleboro and North Attleboro police had six prisoners. One was released after posting $1,000 cash bail. The others were released without bail.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by local and state fire and police officials. A police official said the fire is possibly electrical in nature.

"I'm glad no one was in there when this happened," Judge Gregory L. Phillips, the presiding judge of the court, said looking at the damage. Normally on Monday mornings the building is filled with people.

The building houses the Attleboro district and juvenile court sessions. It has four courtroom, including two on the second floor, one of which is used for jury trials. State court statistics show that in the last fiscal year the court was the 12th busiest  criminal court of the state's 62 district courts and the 19th busiest civil court.

During a press conference this morning, Fire Deputy Chief Glenn Livesey, the incident commander, said the fire was initially reported by an alarm company. Firefighters soon afterwards received a call from a court employee arriving for work that there was a fire, Livesey said.

Firefighters arriving on three engines and a ladder truck discovered flames pouring out of the second floor civil magistrate's office, Livesey said. The office is also adjacent to a judge's lobby and the civil courtroom.

Livesey said firefighters laid 300 feet of hose line up the front door and up the only stairwell which winds around to the second floor. "It was a good stop. It didn't get into the roof or the attic," Livesey said.

Firefighters cut a hole in the roof to vent the fire.

Fire Chief Ronald Churchill said the fire was knocked down in 45 minutes.

It is unknown how long the court will be closed.

"They will be out of business for a while," Churchill said.

Phillips said he is discussing with court officials about moving court sessions to district courts in Taunton and Wrentham. Court officials are also considering using the community room in the North Attleboro police station and were looking over the nearby Masonic Temple.

The second-floor magistrate's office holds civil court filings, such as restraining orders, small claims complaints and evictions. Churchill said court officials were still evaluating the damage.

This story will be updated throughout the day.