Arson suspected in fire at closed elementary school building
Arson is suspected in a fire that heavily damaged the former Granville Elementary School in Coal Center.
The fire was reported a little before 5 p.m. Saturday, and crews stayed on the scene at 15 School St. until a little after 10 p.m., according to Frank Stetar, the mayor of California borough and a member of the borough’s volunteer fire department.
The building was one of the original elementary schools in what later became the California Area School District. After it was no longer a school, it had been a personal care facility and, more recently, had been a storage site for heating and cooling equipment, Stetar said.
The fire is under investigation.