Dover Leaders Picking Up Pieces After Fire Destroys School

Firefighters in Dover spent much of the day putting out hotspots after fire ripped through the small town’s high school late Monday night into Tuesday. 

The fire broke out around midnight, quickly spreading throughout the high school. After a few hours firefighters got it under control, but by then it was too late. The building is a total loss. 

1/12/2016 Related Story: Dover High School Destroyed In Overnight Fire

Parts of the school, we're told, are a more than a 100 years old. For the generations of people that went to school here, there's nothing left but memories. 

Jerry Stitt came down to see the damage and to remember the good times. 

“My first thought was, ‘Is the gym ok?’” Stitt said. “I love sports. That’s the reason I love the school so much. I got a lot of memories.”

Superintendent Shannon Grimes gets it. He says this school was an important part of this town.

“This is a small town and the high school is the center of the community and lots of people went to school in that building,” Grimes said. “[They] still live here and have a lot of sentimental attachment to it still.”

The adjacent elementary school saw only minor smoke and water damage. Eighty-or-so high school students will be moved there once the mess is cleaned up. Then the district plans to rebuild. But some things just can't be replaced. 

“My dad went here. My grandpa went here,” Still said. “[It is] just a bad deal.”

Fire investigators are still trying to figure out the cause.