Edited at 11:05 on 07/10/2024 to clarify what is considered a total loss and what was spared from the fire.
DECKER, Ind. (We Are Knox County) - An old building that has stood on the edge of Decker for over a century has now been reduced to a pile of bricks.
The old Decker High School caught fire around 7:40 Tuesday evening.
It took firefighters from 10 different departments over six hours to extinguish the fire.
Assistant Fire Chief Doug Springfield with Johnson Township Fire Department told WAKC News Now that the original schoolhouse was considered a total loss.
Once the fire trucks left, excavators came in and began tearing down the building.
All that now remains of the old school is the front entrance.
The attached gymnasium, which houses Shouse Sawmill, was undamaged.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the sawmill thanked the firefighters and emergency personnel that responded and said it will continue operations.
Springfield says the fire is being investigated by the Indiana State Fire Marshal and foul play is not suspected.
This isn't the first time the school has caught fire.
According to the Decker High School Alumni Facebook page, the school was built in 1911 and caught fire in 1915.
Once rebuilt, it served as a high school for students in the Decker area until 1967 when South Knox Middle-High School opened.
The building then housed students in 1st through 5th grade until 1999 when South Knox Elementary School opened.
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