BURKE COUNTY, N.C. -- BURKE COUNTY, N.C. -- Fire ripped through an old schoolhouse in Burke County early Monday morning.
Crews were called to the old high school building, which has been a part of the community for more than a century, on South Center Street around 5 a.m
It is still too early for investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
"I'm a very sentimental person so its just sad to see it," said one local resident.
Dozens of crews were on scene Monday morning as flames burned down the old Hildebran High School building. People say they saw smoke shooting from the back of the building, which has been the point of controversy over the last several years.
Some people wanted to save the building to renovate and restore it. The city wanted to demolish most of it and replace it with something else
As one resident said, it looks like the mayor got her wish. "I don't know how to put it except a piece of my heart went up in flames with it."
The SBI will go inside the building later Monday to investigate. No one was in the building at the time of the fire. No injuries have been reported.