Knoxville College hit by fire during presidential search and accreditation bid

The fire that broke out Nov. 4 on Knoxville College’s Hillside campus, with flames clearly visible from downtown, left a 126-year-old building in ruins and supporters of the historically black college mourning the loss.

Well into the next day, hours after the Knoxville Fire Department was called to the blaze that ultimately destroyed the university’s Elnathan Hall, firefighters were still pouring water to extinguish hot spots in the rubble as fire investigators tried to determine how the fire started.

The loss of the historic building comes at a time when the university has been struggling, with most buildings on campus – including Elnathan Hall – closed and unused for years. The college has been pushing to regain accreditation after losing it 27 years ago, and a search is underway for a new president.

The private, historically black college was founded in 1875 by the Presbyterian Church and has important connections to Knoxville’s civil rights history. In recent decades, the university has struggled with debt, low enrollment, the closure of its buildings and the loss of its national and state accreditation.

Investigators are looking for the source of the fire

Towering flames and smoke were already visible when the fire was reported to 911 around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, KFD said in a news release.

Firefighters were initially hampered by the lack of a functional water system on the vacant campus and had to run hoses uphill to the fire, which caused water pressure problems and required the assistance of tankers, Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks said. to Knox News.

The fire was so large that crews could not enter the building and had to fight the flames from outside.

After walls partially collapsed from the fire, the City Services Department took the rest down to prevent the remaining walls from falling on first responders.

A city excavator was digging through the rubble late on the morning of November 5, while a fire department investigator was nearby.

“I can’t say 100% at this point, but there’s a good chance the fire was man-made,” Wilbanks told Knox News as the investigation continued on Nov. 5. “Until an investigator comes. back to me and say we know someone started the fire. I can’t say, but there’s a good chance that’s the case based on what we know now.”

The college has had repeated cases of people entering the closed buildings on campus. On Oct. 30, a dumpster fire, believed to be caused by an intruder, occurred on the top floor of another building, Wilbanks said.

Officials did not believe anyone died in the fire, but Wilbanks said they did not know what they might find under the rubble.

Community members respond

Knoxville residents and supporters of the college reacted with sadness to news of the loss.

Dasha Lundy, former Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Knoxville College, had cited campus safety concerns when she resigned in 2023. In a written message to Knox News on Nov. 5, she criticized the current leadership at the school.

“Last night’s fire at Elnathan Hall has ignited a call to honor the legacy and purpose of Knoxville College. Elnathan, meaning ‘Gift from God,’ is a testament to our mission and heritage,” Lundy said. “While I am deeply frustrated by the administration’s neglect and ongoing accreditation issues, I remain steadfast in my commitment to the full recovery of Knoxville College.”

Beck Cultural Exchange Center President Reneé Kesler said in an emailed statement that she was “overwhelmed with an outpouring of emotions” when she heard about the fire.

“The photographs of flames rising from Elnathan Hall, a beloved place, evoked a profound sense of history being erased,” Kesler said. “Preserving history is critical to the mission of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.”

In a Facebook post, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon wrote: “Sad night for our community as fire engulfs the historic (Elnathan) Hall Administration Building on the Knoxville College campus. The historic building had not been occupied for more than 40 years. Big thanks to our Knoxville firefighters for responding so quickly and making sure the fire did not spread. Fortunately, no one appears to have been injured.”

Previous Elnathan Hall also lost to fire

The building destroyed by this week’s fire was built to replace an earlier incarnation of Elnathan Hall, which was lost to a fire in 1896. The former Elnathan Hall, which then served as a girls’ dormitory for the college, was left behind like a mass of smoking ruins. ” according to Knoxville Sentinel reports dated December 15, 1896.

As with the recent fire, efforts to extinguish the 1896 blaze were also hampered by difficulty getting enough water for firefighters, according to news reports.

The new Elnathan Hall opened as a dormitory in 1898 and was later one of several historic buildings on campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The recent struggle of a historical institution

Classes have not been held on campus since 2017 due to concerns about the safety of the buildings.

The college began offering online distance learning classes in 2018. Online course offerings for an associate of arts in general studies are listed on the website, although the most recent academic calendar posted online is for 2022-2023.

Knoxville College started a search for a new president this summer after Leonard Adams announced his resignation. University leadership said in June that a new president would be named in August, but no update on the search process or announcement of a new president has been made public.

The college announced in a newsletter in August that it had applied to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools for reaccreditation, a step considered crucial to the college’s future.

The school is $1.8 million in debt, according to Knoxville College’s most recently filed Form 990, an Internal Revenue Service form for tax-exempt organizations, Knox News reported in August. According to the city’s property tax database, the council owes the city of Knoxville more than $28,000 in property taxes.

Knox News attempted to contact Knoxville College officials and members of the board of trustees by phone and email on Nov. 5 for comment on the fire and what effect it might have on efforts to appoint a new president and revitalize the university’s academic programs, but received no response. an immediate response.

Sarah Riley and Ryan Wilusz contributed to this report.