No one was injured.
A building at Knoxville College, East Tennessee’s only historically Black college and one of the oldest in the state, was destroyed by fire on Nov. 4. Although vacant, the structure was completely consumed by the flames.
The huge fire was reported around 9 P.M. at Elnathan Hall. According to a Knoxville Fire Department news release, around 40 firefighters reported to the scene and were present until 1 A.M., attempting to douse the hotspots of the rubble.
As of Nov. 7, fire investigators suggested that the fire was intentionally set at its source. They specified that the “set” could be because of arson, but also could have been due to cooking. Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks told news outlets that they are still unsure of the cause of the Elnathan Hall fire.
Wilbanks continued to explain, “Nothing new as far as any suspects or anything like that. We do believe it was a set fire. We don’t have any leads at this time, but the investigators were told a few people’s names. They are still looking into that.”