Empty school building on fire in Trenton, NJ

🔴 Fire at the abandoned Martin Luther King Middle School broke out Monday afternoon

🔴 Embers from the fire landed on adjacent homes

🔴 The new MLK School behind the old school is unaffected

TRENTON — A fire in a 107-year-old abandoned school building spread to several nearby homes Monday afternoon.

The fire at the old Martin Luther King Middle School on Route 206 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard)  tore through the roof of the school sending plumes of white smoke wafting over Trenton's North Trenton neighborhood. The roof of the building partially collapsed during the fire.

The school is also known as the old Junior No.1 Building.

Police Lt. Nathan B. Bolognini told New Jersey 101.5 embers from the fire landed on several adjacent homes on Evans Avenue next to the school causing them to also burn. There are no reports of injuries and residents were able to return home Monday evening.

The fire was brought under control Monday evening but firefighters remained at the scene overnight watching for any potential flare-ups.

One firefighter was hospitalized for minor injuries.

Building is over 100 years old

The new Martin Luther King Middle School is directly behind the school but is not affected by the fire. Students were dismissed as scheduled from the middle school and class is in session Tuesday.

The school was first opened in 1916 and was replaced by the new school in 2010. The new school became a junior high at the start of the current academic year.

Route 206 was closed in both directions at Southard Street was closed by the fire but reopened Monday evening.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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