Firefighters battle 5-alarm fire at abandoned school in Trenton
Five-alarm fire torches century old abandoned school in Trenton
Firefighters in New Jersey's capital worked to extinguish a five-alarm inferno that torched an abandoned school Monday afternoon. The building, formerly known as the Trenton Junior High School, was built in 1916 and has been vacant for 20 years.
TRENTON - Firefighters in New Jersey's capital worked to extinguish a five-alarm inferno that torched an abandoned school Monday afternoon.
Crews from the Trenton Fire Department were called to the intersection of Southard Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 2:30 p.m.
A tweet from Trenton Publics Schools said the fire engulfed the old Junior No. 1 Building. The current MLK Middle School Building was not impacted by the fire.
The fire struck a fifth alarm about 20 minutes after firefighters arrived at the scene, and wasn't fully extinguished until hours later.
The building, formerly known as the Trenton Junior High School, was built in 1916 and has been vacant for 20 years.
The fire caused falling debris to some damage neighboring homes and force residents to seek temporary shelter.
"I understand people in neighborhood are upset, and I don’t blame them at all," Mayor Reed Gusciora said. "It is an eyesore, and it should’ve been rehabilitated or torn down."
Investigators have not said what sparked the inferno.