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    Surveying the damage
July 3, 2008

Gym burns down

Fire destroys Comanche’s ‘old gymnasium’

By John Walker

COMANCHE — COMANCHE — A fire totaled a 70 plus year old building early Wednesday morning near Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue.

The Old Gym, as locals know it, was up in flames by the time Comanche firefighters arrived on scene a little after 12:30 a.m.

Comanche Fire Chief David Coder said that there were 16 firefighters at the scene.

“It was contained about 6:45 a.m.,” Coder said. “This was the old grade school gym. Everyone who grew up here has been here before.”

Stephens County Commissioner Dee Bowen said he remembered watching boxing matches and playing basketball games in the gym.

Chuck Ramsey of Comanche said that when he was growing up, over 50 years ago, it seemed like an old building then.

“We played basketball and watched plays in that building,” Ramsey said.

On the south side of the building, the year 1939 is etched into the concrete sidewalk.

Coder said that the fire is still under investigation.

“How it started is still unknown at this time, but we know it started around the south side of the building,” he said. “We should know more in the next few days.”

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the ground floor of the gym was still smoldering from the asphalt roof that collapsed.

“There’s about two feet of roof and tar burning on the ground,” Coder said. “We’ll just let it burn out. It’s mostly tar that’s burning now.”

No injuries were reported.

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