BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – Firefighters were on the scene of a large fire on the former Virginia Intermont College campus early Friday.
News Channel 11 had a crew at the fire around 1:20 a.m. Friday.
“It’s a hazard”: First responders have safety concerns at former Virginia Intermont College
Bristol, Virginia police and firefighters were on the scene.
The fire could be seen burning the main building on campus. Shortly after 2 a.m., News Channel 11’s crew saw the building collapse.
Bristol, Virginia City Councilman Neal Osborne said in a video posted to social media from the scene that firefighters from surrounding localities and departments had come to help due to the size of the ”full inferno.”
According to Osborne, fire crews were working to contain the fire.
”There’s no way around it; this is very bad,” Osborne said in the video. “This is a tragedy for our city.”
Osborne said attempts by the city to push the owners of the VI property to care for it have “fallen on deaf ears.”
”They will have to answer for this, in my mind,” Osborne said. “They will answer for why this property was not secured, why they did not take proactive steps to prevent this from happening.”
Multiple fires have occurred at the campus in the last few years, including one at the former library building in November.
This is a developing story.
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