Second fire in less than a month burns remnants of St. Ann Hospital

Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News
·4 min read

A second fire in less than a month further damaged the remnants of the former St. Ann Hospital in north-central Abilene Tuesday morning, a property Abilene's Habitat for Humanity plans to demolish to create affordable housing.

The fire was called in at 7 a.m. at 1350 Cypress St., north of downtown.

A second alarm was called to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby structures.

The fire was contained, with an early damage estimate of $130,000.

At the scene Tuesday morning, Habitat Executive Director Rosten Callarman said no official cause of the fire had been determined.

More:Large fire breaks out in St Ann Hospital in north-central Abilene Thursday evening

"I don't know if they'll ever come out with an official cause just because most of the evidence would have burned by now," he said. "The general guess seems to be that it was people staying, people sleeping inside the hospital trying to stay warm. (It's) the coldest night, so far, that we've had this this fall. And then they probably just started a little fire, again, to keep themselves warm."

The overnight low was 48 degrees.

An Abilene firefighter sprays water from a ladder over the remains of St. Ann's Hospital as the sun rises in the background Tuesday.
An Abilene firefighter sprays water from a ladder over the remains of St. Ann's Hospital as the sun rises in the background Tuesday.

Callarman said if that was the case, "these are people who just don't have much."

"I want to say, from Habitat, and for myself, I have no anger toward anyone who's trying to take care of themselves and keep themselves warm," he said. "That's, to me, one of the most basic human needs − just being able to sleep comfortably."

Callarman said if that was the cause of the fire, "then I'm sad that our our city is at a place where that's how they felt they had to take care of their basic needs."

"But it just reiterates the need for more affordable housing in this city," he said.

There was no early report of injuries. The Abilene Fire Department reported no occupants at the site upon their arrival.

Creating housing

Callarman said the city of Abilene and the building's previous owner "approached us specifically with the intent of us tearing it down and building affordable housing here in its place."

"That's still the plan," he said, the second fire at the location emphasizing the need "for that plan to move forward."

Habitat has owned the property for about a month.

Callarman said he saw the smoke from the second fire while taking his child to school at nearby Martinez Elementary, and he immediately felt a "sense of dread."

"I just said to myself, surely that's not the St. Ann building," he said. "... (But I) just knew deep in my bones that this is exactly what was happening.

Project still moving forward

After the previous blaze, Oct. 7, Callarman said the nonprofit was in the process of getting bids to demolish the facility, which needed to be rebid because of the damage caused by the initial fire.

That fire started in a neighboring building and spread to the former hospital, founded in 1940 by Sisters of the Divine Providence.

"The first (fire), I don't think would have made that much difference, but they just needed to be made aware of it," Callarman said of the bidding process. "It probably would have come down just a little bit. I'm guessing this will bring the bids down more because the better part of this structure is just gone. So at this point, it's much less about demolition and much more about cleaning up the rubble."

The 36-bed hospital closed in 1968, and the property was rezoned in 1983 to accommodate duplexes built for the Marbridge Villa Skilled Nursing Center for mentally challenged adults, according to Dec. 1, 2016, Abilene City Council meeting minutes.

A firefighter adjusts his glove as Abilene Fire Department crews put out the second fire this month at the former St. Ann's Hospital.
A firefighter adjusts his glove as Abilene Fire Department crews put out the second fire this month at the former St. Ann's Hospital.

Marbridge later moved operations to Austin, and the property had been empty for years.

Attempts to transform the property included CitySquare Housing, a Dallas-based anti-poverty nonprofit, wanting to transform the space into one-bedroom apartments for formerly homeless people

The Abilene City Council on July 14 entered into a Chapter 380 agreement with Habitat for infill development of single-family residences.

That incentive package is valued at $500,000.

State law allows municipalities to enter into such agreements that include offering loans and grants of city funds or services at little or no cost to the developer to stimulate business and commercial activity.

Paperwork transferring ownership was signed about a month ago.

Moving ahead

Abilene firefighters carry a hose down Cypress Street as they knock down a morning blaze at the abandoned St. Ann's Hospital on Tuesday.
Abilene firefighters carry a hose down Cypress Street as they knock down a morning blaze at the abandoned St. Ann's Hospital on Tuesday.

Callarman said that he's was "not necessarily asking (residents) for patience" as Habitat attempted to transform the property.

"This building has stood for the better part of a century," Callarman said. "It's been abandoned for about a quarter century. We've only owned it for about a month, and I know that there are a lot of folks who want to see this process go faster because this is a problem."

Habitat is "not patient with the process, either," he said.

"We're wanting to make it happen quickly," he said. "But I do ask for understanding."

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Second fire in less than a month burns remnants of St. Ann Hospital