Students, former teachers hope for the future after vacant school fire in Trenton
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- The investigation continues into what caused a massive fire at an abandoned school in Trenton.
The fire happened Monday afternoon at the old Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, located off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Southard Street.
The school, which was built in 1916, was originally known as Junior Number One.
Rochelle Clerkin taught at the school for 20 years and visited the site Tuesday afternoon to survey the damage.
"I really felt heartbroken. I was on the verge of tears," Clerkin said. "My classroom was right upstairs. The one that's now demolished."
Both Clerkin and documents on the Trenton City Museum's website said the building was the first junior high school constructed on the east coast.
Alisa McNeese, who served as Trenton's first female firefighter, was a student at the school.
"It's kind of sad for me," McNeese said. "One of the best junior schools you could've ever went to. This was the first junior school."
Both Clerkin and McNeese hope the city is able to save the historic building.
"This was a gem of Trenton's past history that should never been allowed to get into the shape that it did," Clerkin said. "I hope Trenton wakes up and does something with it. I really do."
