The old Clarksdale High School, across from Oakhurst Middle School on School Street, has been vacant for nearly two decades, but that did not stop a fire from occurring on Friday morning.
The Clarksdale Fire Department received a call at around 7:30 Friday regarding a fire on the second floor of the building where the gym was. No injuries occurred and it took close to 30 minutes to put out the fire.
Fire chief Rocky Nabors said trash on the floor caused the fire and individuals go inside the building, even though it is vacant.
“People go in there and do whatever,” Nabors said.
Nabors said he did not know whether or not anyone intended to cause a fire, but noted people do set fires purposely.
“We’ve been to that location,” Nabors said. “We go at least once or twice a year. Somebody threw some trash. It’s normally boarded up. I don’t know how he got an entry.”
There were 11 firefighters and three fire trucks on the scene Friday morning.
“We came in, got a call from dispatch that there was a fire at the old Clarksdale High School. We don’t know who started it or what caused it,” assistant chief Capt. Charles Lang said at the scene.
While the cause was later determined after the investigation, the individual(s) started the fire is still unknown.
Lang did know no one was supposed to be using the building.
“It’s boarded up so I know nobody is using it,” he said.
Lang discussed the process for putting the fire out, noting all firefighters from the department on duty were at the scene, including the other assistant chief Marvin McCray.
“We had to make entrance through the side door, pulled the line, got the line out the window,” Lang said. “The guys came in and put it out.”
The only damage was to the gym floor on the second floor, but it could have been worse if the fire department did not come to the scene.
“It was smoked up real good,” Lang said.
Lang had all praise for everyone who helped out.
“They did a great job,” he said.
