The Bible House burns to the ground

Dan texted me at work today to tell me that the Bible House had burned to the ground.  When I first read it, I was so busy I could hardly comprehend it.  As the day wore on, the words echoed and I thought back over years of the many times I had visited and taken my children to purchase books there.  It's been a fixture in Searcy and I wonder if they will rebuild.

I understand that the fire start at about 9:30 AM and it kept smoldering and reigniting.  At 1 PM the fire was still smoldering.  At one point there were more than 40 fireman at the scene.  Two engine trucks, a tower tower truck, and even most of the city's off duty fire personnel responded  to the blaze.  The Bible house has been at that location since 1980.

When I came into town at about 3:30, the tower truck was still pouring water onto the building.  The right wing of the building was the children's wing and is a total loss.  It was taken down with the help of a backhoe about 11 AM.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.