Previous coverage in the video player: Flowers and Bullets celebrates ten years but need help to keep going
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A fire broke out at a Tucson community farm on Ellington Place in Midtown late Wednesday night. The Tucson Fire Department says it started in an empty building and spread quickly.
The former Julia Keen Elementary School was turned into Midtown Farm four years ago by a non-profit group called Flowers and Bullets.
Tito Romero is the co-founder of Flowers and Bullets. He was there while the Tucson Fire Department worked to put out the flames.
"It's really unfortunate what's happening here. We don't know how this is going to effect us and our future here," said Romero.
He says the co-op and community garden provides resources to the people who live in the neighborhood.
"Along the lines of agriculture, sustainability. Along the lines of our traditions, culture, being able to grow food here on site," Romero said.
The farm is home to goats, chickens and other animals. Romero says they made it out safe.
"The fire started on the north side of the building, and our animals and our farm space is on the southside."
Romero said they're not sure what sparked the fire, but they're glad it burned unused space.
"We don't really know what started the fire, but thankfully at the moment we're only occupying the fields and not the building at the moment."
While the farm isn't currently occupying the building, Romero says people may have been inside the old school trying to stay warm.
"We hope that nobody was hurt, we hope that nobody was inside, because people are cooking inside, trying to stay warm inside, trying to seek refuge inside. So it's kind of a rock and a hard place for us," Romero said.
The Tucson Fire Department said no one was hurt in the 3 alarm fire.
"Honestly this was probably a long time coming. It's a 10-acre space with an old elementary school that has been abandoned since 2004," he said. "That's why we're coming in. To change the dynamic of the community because we know that things like this are an eyesore, but they also bring a lot of attention to a lot of negativity or people who are just trying to seek refuge. So we're here just trying to create good, positive changes in the community and it's really unfortunate that we constantly get beat up but this is literally just the upstream battle that we go through working in underserved communities."
Romero said he's grateful for the Tucson Fire Department's quick response and their neighborhood support.
"We've had a lot of neighbors call us and share their concerns, so we know we have a lot of support in our community."
The Tucson Fire Department says investigators are working to determine what started the fire. They say they will stay at the scene to watch for hot spots throughout the night.
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