The fire at Parklane Academy’s gym late Monday night appears to be “accidental in nature,” according to fire officials.
School officials canceled classes Tuesday at the McComb private school as investigators worked to determined what caused the blaze.
“The investigators have reviewed video footage from the school and its pretty clear that it is accidental in nature, no foul play suspected at this time,” Fire Chief Gary McKenzie said, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
The fire broke out around 11 p.m. on the northeast corner of the gym, and towering flames shot up from the structure.
"Apparently a passerby spotted the fire and called it in about 11:30 last night," McKenzie said. "Our guys got on the scene at 11:34 and flames were coming out of the roof already at that point.”
Parklane Administrator Jack Henderson said the gym housed PE classes, three classrooms and a weight room. The school's basketball gym was not involved. The building was the school's older gym and is located on the southeastern end of campus.
Henderson said the decision not to hold classes today was made the moment he pulled up to the fire.
"I knew it would be too dangerous for our students and didn't want to take that risk," he said. "We don't intend to resume classes until the fire department assures us that it's completely safe to do so. Right now, we'll just wait and see. If we're out for any extended period of time, our students can take their classes online as they did during COVID. But if it's only a couple of days or until the end of the week, resuming classwork won't be much of an issue."
Firefighters quickly batted down the flames and went to work inside the structure, whose walls were dangerously leaning inward, particularly on the eastern side of the building, after the roof collapsed.
“Based on the size of the structure, we put out an all-call and had units from every fire department in Pike County out here assisting,” McKenzie said.
Firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading, although the heat from the blaze damaged the exterior of an adjacent building, McKenzie said.
“The fire was under control by about 1:30 a.m. but we are here this morning watching for hot spots, of course,” he said.
McKenzie said officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office were at the scene Tuesday and working with city fire investigators.
“It could take anywhere from a day to several weeks to determine what happened,” he said. “It's a slow process, especially if anything suspicious is being considered as a cause. At this point, though, we can't even speculate as to what started the fire."
Henderson was obviously distraught by the damage.
"I was on my way back home from Vicksburg attending a school softball game last night and got a phone call when I was in Brookhaven from Coach Ryan Bradford, who is also a member of one of the volunteer fire departments,” he said. “I immediately drove to the school and got here around midnight. I was very fearful when I first arrived but somewhat relieved to learn that there had been no injuries. Thank God it happened at 11 p.m. and not at 11 a.m."
Henderson, up all night since arriving at the school, said he has been receiving numerous calls since others learned of the fire.
"Everybody has pulled together to show support, not only in our local community but also from all over the state. It's amazing how many people have reached out to me," he said. "Our fire departments here in Pike County did an outstanding job and we appreciate them as that outpouring of support. We'll get it all rebuilt. There's no doubt about that."
