Knoxville College was hit by fire while searching for a president and applying for accreditation

The fire that broke out Nov. 4 at Knoxville College's hilltop 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 eventually destroyed the college's Elnathan Hall, firefighters were still pouring water to extinguish hot spots in the rubble as fire investigators worked to figure it out how the fire broke out.

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

The private, historically black college was founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1875 and has important ties to Knoxville's civil rights history. In recent decades, the college 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 November 4, KFD said in a press release.

Firefighters were initially hampered by the lack of a functioning water system on the vacant campus and had to run hoses uphill to the fire, causing water pressure problems and requiring the assistance of tankers, Mark Wilbanks, deputy chief of the Knoxville Fire Department, told Knox News.

The fire was so large that emergency services were unable to enter the building and had to fight the flames from the outside.

After the fire partially collapsed the walls, the city's public services department demolished the remainder to prevent the remaining walls from collapsing on first responders.

In the late morning of November 5th, a city excavator was digging through the rubble, with a fire department investigator nearby.

“I can't say 100 percent right now, but there's a strong possibility (that the fire was human-caused),” Wilbanks told Knox News as the investigation continued Nov. 5. “Until an investigator comes.” back to me and say we know someone started the fire. I can't say, but based on what we know now, there's a high probability that this is the case.

At the university there were repeated break-ins into the closed buildings on campus. According to Wilbanks, on Oct. 30, a trash can fire occurred upstairs in another building that is believed to have been started by an intruder.

Officials didn't believe anyone died in the fire, but Wilbanks said they didn't know what they might find under the rubble.

Community members respond

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

Dasha Lundy, a 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 school's current leadership.

“Last night’s fire at Elnathan Hall sparked a call to honor the legacy and purpose of Knoxville College. Elnathan, meaning 'Gift of God,' is a testament to our mission and legacy,” said Lundy. “While I am deeply frustrated by the board’s neglect and ongoing accreditation issues, I remain committed to the full restoration of Knoxville College.”

Beck Cultural Exchange Center President Reneé Kesler said in an email statement that she was “overwhelmed by a rush of emotions” when she learned of the fire.

“The images of flames rising from Elnathan Hall, a beloved site, evoked a deep sense of the erasure of history,” Kesler said. “Preserving history is of utmost importance to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.”

In a Facebook post, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon wrote: “A sad night for our community as fire struck the historic (Elnathan) Hall administration building on the Knoxville College campus. The historic building has not been inhabited for over 40 years. A big thank you to our Knoxville.” The firefighters responded so quickly and made sure the fire didn't spread. Luckily no one appears to have been injured.

The previous Elnathan Hall also lost to fire

The building destroyed in this week's fire was built to replace an earlier version of Elnathan Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1896. The former Elnathan Hall, then serving as the college's girls' dormitory, left “a mass of smoking ruins,” according to Knoxville Sentinel reports from December 15, 1896.

According to media reports, efforts to extinguish the 1896 fire were hampered, similar to the most recent blaze, by firefighters having difficulty getting enough water.

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

The Recent Struggles of a Historic Institution

Due to safety concerns regarding the buildings, classes have not been held on campus since 2017.

The college has been offering online distance learning courses since 2018. Online course offerings for an Associate of Arts in General Studies degree are listed on the website, but the most current academic calendar published online is for 2022-23.

Knoxville College began its search for a new president this summer after Leonard Adams announced his resignation from the position. University leadership announced in June that a new president would be named in August, but no update on the search process or the announcement of a new president was released.

The college announced in a newsletter in August that it had applied for re-accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, a move seen as crucial to the college's future.

The school is $1.8 million in debt, according to Knoxville College's most recent Form 990 filing, an Internal Revenue Service form for tax-exempt organizations, Knox News reported in August. According to the city's property tax database, the college 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 its potential impact on efforts to hire a new president and revitalize the college's academic programs However, there was no success in obtaining an immediate response.

Sarah Riley and Ryan Wilusz contributed to this report.

Investigators are looking for the source of the fire

Community members respond

The previous Elnathan Hall also lost to fire

The Recent Struggles of a Historic Institution

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