Knoxville College hit by fire during presidential search, accreditation bid

On By Littum

The fire that broke out on Knoxville College’s hilltop campus on Nov. 4, with flames clearly visible from downtown, left a 126-year-old building in ruins and supporters of the historically black college mourning the loss.

Well into the next day, hours after the Knoxville Fire Department was called to the blaze that ultimately destroyed the college’s Elnathan Hall, firefighters were still pouring water to extinguish hotspots in the rubble as fire investigators worked to determine how the fire started.

The loss of the historic building comes at a time when the college was struggling, with most buildings on campus — including Elnathan Hall — shuttered and unused for years. The college has been pushing to regain accreditation after losing it 27 years ago, and a search is underway for a new president.

The private historically black college was founded in 1875 by the Presbyterian Church and has important connections to Knoxville’s civil rights history. In recent decades, the college has struggled with debt, low enrollment, the closing of its buildings, and the loss of its national and state accreditation.

Investigators are looking for the source of the fire

Towering flames and smoke were already visible when the fire was reported to 911 around 8:30 p.m. Nov. 4, KFD said in a news release.

Firefighters were initially hampered by the lack of a functional water system on the vacant campus and had to run hoses uphill to the fire, causing water pressure issues and requiring the assistance of tankers, Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks told Knox News.

The fire was so large that crews could not enter the building and had to fight the flames from outside.

After walls partially collapsed in the fire, the City Service Department tore down the rest to prevent the remaining walls from falling on first responders.

A city excavator was digging through rubble late on the morning of November 5 with a fire department investigator nearby.

“I can’t say 100% right now, but there is a high probability (that the fire was human-caused),” Wilbanks told Knox News as the investigation continued on Nov. 5. “Until I have an investigator get back to me and say we know someone started the fire, I can’t say that, but there’s a high likelihood that’s the case from what we know now.”

The college has had repeated incidents of people breaking into the closed buildings on campus. A dumpster fire, believed to have been started by an intruder, occurred on an upper floor of another building on Oct. 30, Wilbanks said.

Officials did not believe anyone died in the fire, but Wilbanks said they did not know what they might find under the rubble.

Community members respond

Knoxville residents and supporters of the college reacted with sadness to the news of the loss.

Dasha Lundy, a former chief operating officer and vice president of Knoxville College, had cited safety concerns about the campus when she resigned in 2023. In a written message to Knox News on Nov. 5, she criticized current management at the school.

“Last night’s fire in Elnathan Hall has ignited a call to honor Knoxville College’s heritage and purpose. Elnathan, meaning ‘Gift from God,’ stands as a testament to our mission and heritage,” Lundy said. “While deeply frustrated by the Board’s neglect and ongoing accreditation issues, I remain resolute in my commitment to Knoxville College’s full recovery.”

Beck Cultural Exchange Center President Reneé Kesler said in an emailed statement that she was “overwhelmed with a rush of emotion” when she heard about the fire.

“The images of flames billowing from Elnathan Hall, a beloved place, evoked a deep sense of the obliteration of history,” Kesler said. “Historic preservation is paramount to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center’s mission.”

In a Facebook post, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon wrote: “Sad night for our community as fire engulfs the historic (Elnathan) Hall administration building on the Knoxville College campus. The historic building had not been occupied in 40+ years. Many thanks to our Knoxville Firefighters for responding so quickly and providing , that the fire fortunately did not spread.

Former Elnathan Hall also lost to fire

The building destroyed by this week’s fire was built to replace an earlier incarnation of Elnathan Hall that was lost in a fire in 1896. Then serving as a girls’ dormitory for the college, the former Elnathan Hall was left “a lot smoking ruins,” according to Knoxville Sentinel reports on December 15, 1896.

Similar to the recent fire, efforts to extinguish the 1896 blaze were also hampered by firefighters’ difficulty getting enough water, according to news reports.

The new Elnathan Hall opened as a dormitory in 1898 and was later one of several historic buildings on campus to be included in the National Register of Historic Places.

A historic institution’s latest struggles

Classes have not been held on campus since 2017 due to security concerns surrounding the buildings.

The college began offering online distance learning classes in 2018. Online course offerings for an Associate of Arts in General Studies are listed on its website, although the most recent academic calendar published online is for 2022-23.

Knoxville College launched a search for a new president this summer after Leonard Adams announced his resignation from the post. The college’s leadership said in June that a new president would be named in August, but no update on the search process or the announcement of a new president has been released.

The college announced in a newsletter in August that it had applied to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools for reaccreditation, a move considered critical to the college’s future.

The school is $1.8 million in debt, according to Knoxville College’s most recently filed Form 990, an Internal Revenue Service form for tax-exempt organizations, Knox News reported in August. The college owes the city of Knoxville more than $28,000 in property taxes, according to the city’s property tax database.

Knox News attempted to reach Knoxville College officials and board members by phone and email on Nov. 5 for comment on the fire and what effect it might have on efforts to hire a new president and revive the college’s academic programs, but did not receive a immediate response.

Sarah Riley and Ryan Wilusz contributed to this report.