JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The fire Sunday morning at the former Public School No. 8 was the second fire at an abandoned, historic building in Jacksonville just this year.
The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause as suspicious.
"I was raised three blocks from it," Stan Jordan, a former principal of the school, said. "I was captain of the school board patrol. We had grades one through seven in that school."
When Jordan heard about the fire at the school Sunday, he said he was heartbroken.
"That’s part of my emotional fabric and to see it in the state of neglect, it’s not fair," Jordan said.
Emotional fabric is one of the main reasons Alan Bliss, CEO of the Jacksonville Historical Society, said buildings like the school need to be preserved. The school closed in 2013, but the building is more than 100-years-old.
"One of the reasons that the Jacksonville Historical Society advocates for the preservation of buildings is not just about nostalgia, but because of their value to the sense of place and the identity of a neighborhood, or a community or an entire city," Bliss said.
"Identity strengthens people's sense of citizenship, and when people feel a sense of citizenship, they feel a sense of investment in the place where they live," he continued.
A massive fire destroyed most of what was left of the abandoned building that housed the Kyle Moulton Funeral Home in January. The fire forced an emergency demolition of the building that was more than a century old.
In January, Bliss told First Coast News he was disappointed the building burned, but not surprised. He said the building was on the Society's list of endangered historic structures in the city.
Bliss said the fires show the need for these buildings to be maintained. He said property owners should work with elected officials and the Society to maintain the sites.
“It points to the fact that we do have an obligation to be paying attention to structures that are vulnerable," Bliss said. "And even though they may not look like they're about to fall down, they are attractive to people who, as I said, would want to cause mischief."
The State Fire Marshal's Office is still investigating both of the fires.
First Coast News reached out to the city and asked if it has any plans to preserve buildings like Public School No. 8. FCN hadn't heard back at the time this article was published, but city offices were closed Monday for the holiday.