Historic Virginia college building engulfed in flames as local pols rage over attempts to preserve campus falls on deaf ears

A historical Virginia college was engulfed in flames early Friday morning as local officials said attempts to preserve the buildings fell on “deaf ears.”The fire sparked around 1:00 a.m.on Virginia Intermont College’s campus in Bristol, Va.

— located on the border of eastern Tennessee and Virginia.The “full inferno” spread to other buildings and the main hall collapsed shortly after 2:00 a.m., according to News Channel 11.Stunned Bristol City Councilman Neal Osborne, who witnessed the flames destroy the 19th-century school overnight, shared images and videos of the blaze as emergency crews worked to contain the fire.“What happened here tonight is a pure tragedy, plain and simple,” Osborne said on X.Osborne had been fighting to preserve the historic campus for years but said those efforts were not getting far.“The city’s *multiple* attempts to goad the owners to do something have fallen on deaf ears,” Osborne claimed.

“We have fined them, we have levied additional taxes, we’ve declared the property blighted, we’ve even tried to secure the campus ourselves within legal limits.” The cause of the fire is unknown.The library building went up in smoke last month, News Channel 11 reported.Osborne believes the recent fires were caused by “the negligence of the owners of this campus to properly secure the buildings.”The mayor also discussed the challenges with the owners ahead of Friday’s inferno.“We are in a bad situation for that because it is owned by someone and they’re paying their taxes,” Bristol Mayor Becky Nave told 8 News.“They keep things up to date, other than the property.”The campus was founded in 1884 and became a mixed-gender school in 1972.The college closed in May 2014 due to financial issues and the loss of accreditation so it sat boarded up with the interior in disrepair for over a decade, according to 8 NewsThe school was reportedly purchased by US Magis International, a Chinese-owned company based out of ...