REXBURG, Idaho — The oldest building at Ricks College was destroyed by fire Wednesday as it was being demolished.
The Jacob Spori building, built in 1903, was being demolished by a bulldozer early Wednesday, school spokesman Don Sparhawk said.
A steel cable accidentally sparked the fire just after 3 a.m., Sparhawk said. Fire and school officials allowed the blaze to finish the job the demolition crew had begun.
The 28,000-square-foot building held sentimental value for the school's alumni and current students, but was suffering from serious decay, Sparkhawk said.
No injuries were reported and there was no damage to other campus buildings.
Classes will be held as normal at Ricks College except in the nearby Snow and Romney buildings where power was turned off. Classes possibly resumed in these buildings later in the day.
R.E. Beck Construction of Shelley had chosen to begin tearing down the walls of the building at midnight. The demolition was unannounced to the public because of safety concerns from large numbers of people who might have assembled to watch.
The contractor was using 1-inch diameter steel cable to cut through the stone walls, causing the sides of the building to collapse. It was estimated by the contractor that the process could take all night.
The fire started by sparks created from friction caused by the steel cable.
At the time of the fire, the front wall of the building had fallen, but the wood roof was still in place. Fire quickly spread to the upper two floors and roof, and later moved to the first floor.
Because of concern about an electrical vault near the fire, power was turned off to the Snow and Romney buildings.
Officials of the LDS church-owned school plan to build a new Spori building to once again house the school's communication and arts departments.
In June, the church announced plans to expand Ricks College to a four-year institution and rename it Brigham Young University-Idaho.