Job Corps in Flames

[Debbie Thompson]

What Springfield needs is strong, cohesive leadership, there are too many factions within the neighborhood. Springfield needs to follow the RAP model.

That stopped working when the SPAR leadership started testifying before HPC asking them to allow the demolition of historic homes and structures.  That's when the "factions" started among those who didn't think a preservation group should be involved in the destruction of our historic fabric.   I wish that were not true.  I really do.

[Jimmy]

Well, you know me.  I'm quite dumb.  Your post read to me like you were accusing Mrs. DeSpain of arson.

[Bridges]

This was posted in this thread (http://www.myspringfield.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1296) over on myspringfield.org

When I walked past the building last night (10:30pm? not sure about the time) I did see a couple come out from behind it. They told me they just cut through the lot as a shortcut. In the past, vagrants kept breaking into the building, and I suspect they have recently as there was steady new trash around the place.

[02roadking]

I meant merely that Dusty's conviction was based on DeSpain's word.

"Despite more than 100 arrests and 83 criminal convictions in Jacksonville dating back 30 years, career prostitute Dusty Simmons has never been to prison."


But since the arsons have continued unabated, I think its reasonable to assume that when they convicted Dusty for basically being a pain in the ass, (at least in the press accounts) that they didnt get the actual serial arsonist.


''its reasonable to assume''

Wow Stephen, do you really believe this to be the case?
 

[Lunican]

What is the state of the building now? I assume the fire is out by now.

[hightowerlover]

Fire under control at former Jacksonville Jewish Center in Springfield
Posted: April 25, 2011 - 7:03am
Abel Harding/The Times-Union
Firefighters battle flames at the old Jacksonville Jewish Center in Springfield

205 W. Third St., Jacksonville, Florida Video from the scene at 7:00 a.m.

Video of a firefighter in a second floor window, moments before fire broke through the roof

History of the Jacksonville Jewish Center
The synagogue portion of the property was built in 1929 and an educational building was added about 50 years ago. The Jewish Center closed early in 1976 when a new Jewish Center was built in Mandarin.

The Labor Department bought the property for $400,000 and opened it in 1979 as the Jacksonville Job Corps Center to train and educate 150 high school dropouts. The Job Corps moved to a new home in 2005 and the federal government declared the property to be surplus.



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By Abel Harding, David Hunt, Timothy J. Gibbons
Update (9 a.m.) - Francis has given official word that the fire is under control. The state fire marshal is being called in to investigate.

Update (8:18 a.m.) - All photos from the fire are now in a photo gallery

Update (8:18 a.m.) - Floors in the building have collapsed. According to the fire department, 15 minutes before the floors collapsed, several dozen firefighters were pulled out of the building. Most damage was to the second floor, officials said, and they still fear the building could collapse.

Update (8:18 a.m.) - Flames no longer coming out of the roof, building seems to be coming under control.

Update (8:05 a.m.) - Fire department spokesperson Tom Francis says there is no threat to surrounding homes, and no surrounding homes have been evacuated.

Update (8:00 a.m.) - Fire trucks have pulled away from Silver Street side of the building to concentrate on the building's second and third stories. The fire department says the main focus now is to keep walls from collapsing.

Update (7:54 a.m.) - Firefighters report the roof has collapsed. Also, see a picture of the building before the fire and brief history about the center.

Update (7:05 a.m.) - The fire department sounded an alarm to get all interior crews out of the building, saying the fire had become too dangerous to be that close to.

Firefighters are battling a fire at the old Jacksonville Jewish Center and Job Corps building at Third and Pearl streets in Springfield.

About 75 firefighters and 10 fire trucks are on the scene. The first call came at 6:45 a.m., according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department

The fire appears to have started on the third floor of the abandoned building at 205 W. Third St., but the cause has yet to be determined. No mandatory evacuations have been issued but nearby residents are advised to stay away. No injuries have been reported.

Fire department spokesperson Tom Francis said no other structures are in danger, but there is concern that floors may collapse as 24,000 pounds of water per minute have been used to try to contain the blaze. Water cascaded out the front doors, down the steps as hoses blasted the flames and hot spots.

Francis said the fire breached the attics area and shot a huge, glowing fire ball through the roof.

Residents said vagrants have occasionally been a problem in the area.

Denise Hunt said the fire woke her up before the sirens began to sound. The sounds of breaking glass and falling debris were too much to sleep through. She compared the noise to fireworks.

"It looked like an inferno," Hunt said. "It looked like nothing I've ever seen in my life. I thought we were going to lose this entire block if someone didn't get here soon," Hunt said.

Hunt, a UNF nursing student, said she was nervous about her nearby home and her family. When she first went outside, the intensity of the fire was impossible to ignore.

"You could feel the heat. I could feel my skin burning," she said.

Claude Moulton, president of the Springfield Preservation and Restoration Council, said the building is a noticeable loss for one of Jacksonvilles most distinctive neighborhoods.

"It is a terrible shame they were never able to do something productive with it," he said as he watched firefighters gather their gear at Monday's fire scene. "It's a shame to see a historic building destroyed."

Moulton said many locals had hope of a developer converting the three-story building into residences and shops but the economy has been too rocky in recent years.

This story is developing, we will add more information as it becomes available.



Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-04-25/story/fire-under-control-former-jacksonville-jewish-center-springfield#ixzz1KY7KxeGn

[urbaknight]

Hmmmmmmmmm, this looks like the work of the evil KKK.

[Lunican]

UPDATE: Just got word that the building is collapsing and is about to be demolished.

[ChriswUfGator]

Well, you know me.  I'm quite dumb.  Your post read to me like you were accusing Mrs. DeSpain of arson.

If DeSpain had been an arsonist, instead of what she actually was, there'd be a lot more of Springfield left standing.

[ChriswUfGator]

UPDATE: Just got word that the building is collapsing and is about to be demolished.

Please someone take pictures.

100 years of history, gone in an instant.

[Jimmy]

UPDATE: Just got word that the building is collapsing and is about to be demolished.

Yeah, I saw an ariel shot on Dan's facebook wall.  The two lengthwise walls are buckling.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150167059488855&set=a.493546643854.263974.576333854&type=1

[avs]

Just got word that the building is collapsing and is about to be demolished

This is incredibly sad and a great loss to a national historic district!  The city MUST stop these fires - it is unsafe and highly suspicious for this area to have sooooo many fires - its like 1/month!  What I think is even more suspicious is that no one is ever really injured - not that I want someone injured - but what are the odds that fires occur so frequently in 1 square mile and no one gets hurt!?  The whole thing is suspicious and the city needs to get to the bottom of this.  As a resident of Springfield I am outraged that the city continues to let this go on.

Springfield will be nothing but ashes if this continues!  What other city allows so many fires to continue to happen in 1 square mile so frequently!!???

[02roadking]

Demolition would, more than likely, destroy any evidence as to the real cause of this fire.

[Lunican]

When was the last time an arson in Springfield was solved? Was 2003 the last arrest?

[avonjax]

Another Jacksonville tragedy. I loved that building and had hoped it would be something great one day. My pessimism is kicking in again, but we are allowing Jacksonville to rot and or burn down. I will probably not live long enough to see what will surely become a weed infested lot come back to life. We take 1 step forward and 100 back with our historic structures. It's almost too late to care.