Crews have begun demolishing the unstable shells of four buildings destroyed in a huge fire that occurred three weeks ago at the former Virginia Intermont College campus in Bristol.
The red brick outer walls that were left standing — some four stories high — date to the college’s founding 140 years ago. Since the fire, the walls, minus the support of the rest of the buildings, actually “sway in the wind like trees” and pose a danger, which led city officials to warn local residents to steer clear of the property, said city Fire Chief Mike Armstrong.
“The walls are just partially standing, and if you get a good gust of wind, you have bricks falling. It’s a deathtrap,” Armstrong said. 
The fire — the largest in the fire chief’s 10 years in the Bristol job — erupted just after midnight Dec. 20. The massive inferno resulted in a call for help and water that drew 15 fire agencies from as far as Gate City, according to the fire chief. On Wednesday, he was writing thank you letters to the departments that came to the city’s aid.
About 1 million gallons of water were used to extinguish the blaze, Armstrong said. At the height of the fire, five aerial ladder trucks were raised in the air, trying to bring water to the fire, he said.
The fire destroyed four connected buildings at the heart of the campus on Moore Street in downtown Bristol: West, Main and East halls and the administration building. Since the blaze, the fire department has returned a number of times to put out hot spots and monitor the site.
The fire came 10 years after the private liberal arts college closed because of financial struggles, declining enrollment and loss of accreditation.
In December 2016, the property was sold to a Chinese company, U.S. Magis International. The new owner announced plans to open a business college there, and he took some steps toward accreditation, but the plan never materialized. City leaders say the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the failure.
Over the years, the buildings have deteriorated, and the city has taken many steps to try to get the owner to improve and secure them, but nothing has worked.
Armstrong said the buildings have been repeatedly broken into and each one has been vandalized. When the college closed, most of the contents of the buildings were left behind. Because many of the windows have been broken, the structures are also now open to the elements, he added.
Under the circumstances, the fire chief said the fire was inevitable.
“We’ve been talking about this happening for years. … And once it got started, there was no stopping it,” he said.
City officials have still been unable to get in touch with the owner, according to City Manager Randy Eads. The $41,000 cost of demolition, which started Tuesday, will likely have to be paid by the city, he said.
The buildings that were not damaged by the latest fire will be left as they are.
The investigation into the blaze continues. City and fire officials are trying to determine an estimate of damages, which Armstrong said will take time. In addition to the damage to the property, the overtime worked by the firefighters must be calculated.
Eads said he’s not sure yet whether the city will be charged by the BVU Authority, which provides water in the region, for the million gallons used to fight the fire. If so, that amount will be included. 
Although it’s not official, Armstrong said fire officials believe the fire was likely started by a homeless person who was trying to warm up.
Initially there was some concern that the person or people who may have started the fire might not have gotten out of the building, and there was no way to check due to the amount and temperature of the rubble.
Investigators have since talked to a large number of homeless people who frequent the area, and everyone has been accounted for, Armstrong said.
“So, at this point we don’t suspect there was anybody in there,” he said.
Two previous fires at the school, one in the library, and another in the pool area, are also believed to have been started by homeless people seeking shelter.
Ultimately, the property may be auctioned off in a tax sale, the city manager said. Virginia code allows the city treasurer to sell properties that are delinquent on taxes.
Currently, U.S. Magis owes $441,563 in delinquent taxes for 2023 and 2024, plus real estate mowing/cleanup liens placed on the property, Treasurer Angel Britt said Thursday. All 2023 delinquent real estate tax parcels have been turned over to Taxing Authority Consulting Services, a collections agency.
She explained that in Virginia, property valued at less than $100,000 can be sold after it’s been delinquent for one year, while it can be sold after it has been delinquent for two years if its assessed value is greater than $100,000.
Although the Virginia Intermont property is valued at more than $200,000, state code allows the sale at one year if there’s a real estate lien, as is the case with the former VI property. And since the owner owes 2023 back taxes, the property could have been sold Dec. 31 or as soon as possible, Britt said.
The treasurer is required to send a delinquent notice 30 days after the taxes are due, and then legal notices of delinquent properties are published in the local newspaper and letters are sent out to the owners. A list of many delinquent properties in Bristol was published a couple of months ago and another could be published in about two weeks, according to Britt.
She said no date has been set for the auction, but it could happen within months, once the legal process is completed. 
