HARRISBURG, Pa. — Heavy smoke poured out of the former William Penn High School in Harrisburg on Monday morning.
The fire, which is now being investigated as arson, broke out around 6:15 a.m., bringing city firefighters back to a vacant building they know all too well.
“The school district has done everything they can to keep people out," said Chief Brian Enterline of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire. "The problem is, our nefarious residents want to keep going into this building and wreaking havoc on the fire department and the neighbors.”
Chief Enterline says the roof above the burning portion was already caving in, preventing firefighters from being able to fight the flames from inside the building.
The school has sat empty for more than a decade, becoming a prime target for arson, vandalism and other crimes over the years.
Monday’s fire started in the northern part of the building, which used to house an auto mechanic repair shop and paint booth, according to Chief Enterline.
“There’s literally tons, thousands of tons of debris inside that building that need to be taken out," he explained. "We get that done through an emergency order, I believe we can eliminate the potential for death and injury.”
“Broken glass, desks, books, snowblowers, there are a lot of items inside the building," added Harrisburg School District Superintendent, Eric Turman.
Firefighters spent more than two hours putting out the fire on Monday and had to deal with multiple hot spots igniting throughout the morning.
This latest incident forced the school district to close neighboring Camp Curtain Academy for the day, as smoke was getting into the school.
“We don’t have school [today] because of the acts of one or several individuals wanting to have a joy fire that could have killed somebody," said Chief Enterline.
The district is expecting classes at Camp Curtain to resume on Tuesday.
Monday's fire comes as the school district continues to grapple with the abandoned building’s future.
Original plans to demolish it were nixed after community backlash.
Back in September, a task force was formed to figure out where to go next.
Superintendent Turman tells FOX43 that another vote was taken this past Thursday to not demolish the building.
He says discussions about how to clean up the inside of the former school and deal with the asbestos are ongoing.
The next meeting of the William Penn Task Force is scheduled to take place on January 4, 2024.
“I do believe, and the task force believes, we’ve been working collaboratively together and I think we all want to see something at William Penn that is going to have a great impact on students and change the trajectory of the city as well," said Superintendent Turman.
No one was hurt in Monday’s fire, but the city’s fire chief is worried about what could happen if something doesn’t get done soon.
“I don’t want to be pulling anybody out of that building in a body bag which is where we’re headed eventually here," said Chief Enterline. “The problem is, if people want to get in, they’re going to get in and that’s the disappointing part so if they’re going to continue to do that then we need to get the stuff out and I think that’s the next best logical step.”
There are no security cameras in and around the vacant property, according to Chief Enterline.
He says that's a hindrance in these kinds of investigations, as arson is already a very difficult crime to prove.
Chief Enterline says it will be not impossible, but extremely difficult, to identify a suspect in Monday's fire.