Crews battled abandoned building fire at former Houston school, HFD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A large fire tore through what fire crews said was an abandoned school in northwest Houston.

The flames broke out around 11:45 p.m. in the 3200 block of Center Street on Saturday night. It prompted a large response from the Houston Fire Department.

"Upon arrival, we found the fire inside the structure. We started offensive operations," said HFD Deputy Chief Douglas Harrison. "The building is abandoned, and we're going to remain on scene throughout the morning until it's fully extinguished."

But what exactly is the building? HFD said the structure is a former school.

HISD, however, told ABC13 the property was an old administrative building and that it is no longer owned by the district.

Still, the front entrance is marked "Harper School."

According to the district's website, the Harper School once housed its Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, a campus designed for students who were temporarily removed from their regular schools for disciplinary reasons.

Last year, Houston ISD's Board of Managers approved the sale of several surplus district-owned properties. Harper School was included on that list, and the address matches this location.

ABC13 reached back out to the district to clarify whether this property is the former Harper School campus or simply an old administrative building and is awaiting a response.

HFD said it has not yet determined what caused the fire.

As far as the future for this property, the real estate company that handled the sale for HISD said the property sold within the last few weeks. But the company didn't say who bought the site or what the future plans for this property would be.