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History goes up in flames
Jun 12, 2009
By Jason Niblett, Leader-Call Correspondent
May 24, 2009 01:10 am
— A landmark building that has weathered hundreds of storms and taught thousands of students was seriously damaged by fire Saturday morning.
Just before dawn, several Laurel police officers in the historic district noticed a heavy smoke smell while performing routine burglary checks. Although no fire calls had been dispatched, these officers — including Brandon Evans and Shannon Caraway — knew that much smoke wasn’t just a small fire. They patrolled and walked alleys, streets, and avenues and finally came across the source: Jones Middle School’s 82-year-old main building was on fire.
Every available firefighter and every piece of firefighting equipment in Laurel was dispatched. The small blaze in the back of the building near the bus loading zone, however, quickly grew into an inferno, requiring the assistance of the Ellisville Fire Department and many of Jones County’s volunteer departments. With the assistance of the wealth of manpower, modern equipment, and a firewall, the fire was contained to the southern portion of the building. But, other areas, including the school’s auditorium, did receive smoke and water damage.
The destroyed portion included several classrooms and the school’s library.
“I saw a very historic building in our community that had gone up in flames,” Laurel School District board member Rev. Earnest Thompson said. “Think of the years in that building: the students, the faculty, how they cherish this historic site. To see the building go up in flames is heartbreaking.”
According to a plaque hanging outside the office at the school, the building originally known as the Stuart M. Jones Junior High School was erected in 1927. Board president Miranda Beard said the loss is great, but the school building was well insured.
“We’re thankful there were no children in the facility,” Beard said. “School ended Thursday. We hate the loss. We’ll have to access the damage. Restoration, I’m sure, is possible.”
Although firefighters were still on the scene, board members and administrators were already working before dawn Saturday. Board member Mike Axton said the portion that didn’t burn seemed to be in okay shape and student records should have been safe because they were housed in a vault on the opposite end of the building. With a new Laurel Middle School already under construction, school officials also notified the contractor that the new campus can not be late.
“We’re in desperate need of the middle school being open on time in August,” Dr. Glenn McGee said.
Although the school was going to be closed for the next school year while it was renovated to house elementary school students, the loss of history, teachers’ personal items and supplies, and other items can’t be replaced. The school district had also recently invested several million dollars into the structure from grants and other funds, not including the bond issue. Jones Middle School had received new restrooms, new roof, new floors, new lights, new climate control systems, and other upgrades.
“It hurts on the loss of equipment,” McGee said. However, he added that he’s thankful that the entire building didn’t burn. “The fire department did a very diligent work in achieving that.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, which is normal in this type of situation. Besides the Laurel Fire Department, Laurel Police Department, EmServ, American Red Cross Pine Belt Chapter, and Ellisville Fire Department, volunteers responded in the following ways: Calhoun sent an engine and rescue to the Laurel Station 1 to provide rescue services if needed; Soso offered a tanker; Sharon offered an engine and a tanker; Sandersville took an engine and tanker; Powers dispatched its engine, tanker, and heavy rescue; a tanker came from Glade while three tankers came from Ovett. South Jones also sent a tanker. Jones County Fire Coordinator Dan McKenna was also at the fire scene.
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