Fire destroys Jones High School

NEWS 9

Fire consumed Jones High School early this morning in Jones, Okla. Crews continued to battle flames after sunrise, trying to salvage some of the school. Paul Lay, Jones' assistant fire chief, said much of the high school is a total loss. No one was injured.

"Smoke was rolling out of building," said Michael Delahoussave, former Jones student and first person to call 911. "You never figure it's going to be your school, especially since we live right here in town. You never figure think it's going to be something that close to home."

The fire started around 2:00 a.m. this morning and may have been caused by fallen electrical lines. The electrical lines were seen on the building's roof and may have broken off as a result of this weekend's ice storm.

Jones Fire Department had problems getting enough water pressure to put out the fire quickly and had to pull water from a nearby pond, the fire chief told NEWS 9.  Crews worked in defensive mode since the start, but the fire continued to rage.

A majority of the roof caved into the school, collapsing onto classrooms and crushing the school building.

A natural gas line was feeding the fire early on, but the fire department stopped the gas feed from causing even more damage.

The only parts still standing right now are parts of the old and new gym.

"It breaks your heart," said Carl Johnson, principal of Jones High School.  "Right now we're not real concerned with space. The community will take care of us. (But) we don't have records, books or school supplies." 

Principal Johnson said his main worry is saving the transcripts and records stored within a room in the old gymnasium.

"It would be a nightmare to lose transcripts from 60, 70 years ago," he said.