UPDATE: City engineer has condemned former school in St. Albans

A former junior high has been declared unsafe after a fire ripped through the building.

The fire was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday at the fomer St. Albans Junior High School.

City leaders say the city engineer has condemned the building, but the city is bringing in another engineer to assess the damage.

The State Fire Marshal is also on the scene Friday. He wouldn't enter the building because he felt the fire made it unsafe. He used a ladder truck to look at the roof and he believes the fire made it unstable and it could collapse at anytime.

A portion of Kanawha Terrace is still closed in the area.

City leaders say they hope to have the area of the building fenced off and the reopened sometime this weekend.

Still no word on what caused the fire.

Emergency crews responded to a fire at the old St. Albans Junior High School.

It started about 4 p.m. Thursday at the building on Kanawha Terrace.

Metro 911 dispatchers say Kanawha Terrace is being shut down in that area as crews battle the fire.

There's no word on any injuries. Police and fire crews on scene say there's no word if anyone was even inside at the time. They say it's too dangerous to go inside and look now.

St. Albans Mayor Scott James said city officials are trying to figure out what to do with the building.

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