Little of the Old Masonic Lodge building in downtown Texarkana will remain standing after a fire ravaged its interior Monday afternoon.
The structure at 217 W. Seventh St., on the Texas side just a block away from the Arkansas border, became engulfed in flames about noon, city spokesman Lisa Thompson said.
Six Texarkana fire crews, including two from Arkansas, rushed to the scene and searched the two-story building before battling the blaze from outside. City Street Department bulldozers also demolished some of its walls to help extinguish the fire.
"When they arrived, they searched for people inside, and seeing none, they went outside and on the defensive," Thompson said.
No one was injured, but damage to the building where members of the Freemasonry organization once gathered was extensive. American Red Cross workers stood by to ensure that the 30 firefighters at work did not suffer from dehydration or heat exhaustion in the summer swelter.
Thompson estimated that the Old Masonic Lodge has been vacant for about 30 years. Its last city inspection dates back to 1980, and it lacked running utilities or electricity at the time of the fire.
According to city tax rolls, Rod and Lesa LaGrone were its last registered owners. They bought the 13,000-square-foot building and planned to use it as a law office and make renovations, according to a 2004 Texarkana Gazette article. The number listed for LaGrone Law Offices on Summerhill Road was disconnected, and no home phone listing was found. Employees at other law firms in Texarkana said Rod LaGrone may have moved out of town.
Unlike the Majestic and Baxter hotels that burned in downtown Hot Springs this winter after sitting empty for long periods, the Old Masonic Lodge in Texarkana consisted entirely of brick and did not have any wood framing.
"It's not a dedicated landmark or a historical site, but it's been in the downtown area for so long that people associate it with Texarkana's history," said Thompson, who added that it was built in 1922. The Texarkana Gazette article about its purchase dated its construction to 1923.
Fandra Walker, 50, who owns a shop two buildings away from the Old Masonic Lodge, said she wondered about its current state. In the eight years she's worked next door at LeBell's Fashions, she hasn't seen anyone enter or exit.
"It needed to be renovated," she said. "It had a lot of greenery growing out of it, but if it was restored it would have been a great place."
Walker went outside after a customer said she heard sirens. Emergency responders parked in Walker's lot, but her business was otherwise uninterrupted.
"There was smoke coming from the top," she said. "It was pretty much engulfed by the time I saw it."
State Desk on 07/08/2014