SPARTA, Georgia — A fire broke out at the old Hancock County Board of Education building on Augusta Highway Sunday afternoon, according to Assistant Chief for the Hancock County Fire Department Mario Chapple.
Chapple says the department received a call about the fire around 1:30 p.m. They had about 18 people working to put the fire out, including some from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Chapple says the building was no longer in use, so no one was inside at the time, and no one was injured. The department is still investigating the cause, and they say it's a complete loss.
This fire comes just a few days after the five-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Hancock County Courthouse back in August 2014.
At the time, Sparta Hancock County Historical Society President Rick Joslyn told 13WMAZ the courthouse was a focal point for the town as a center of community life.
Most county records like deeds, marriage licenses, birth certificates, and minute-books were destroyed in that fire. It only left parts of the building's brick exterior behind.
The courthouse was able to reopen two years later, and cost $7 million to rebuild.
On Friday, Macon-Bibb County fire crews were battling a major fire of their own at ABC Supply Company near Middle Georgia Regional Airport.
This is a developing story, stick with 13WMAZ for updates.