Robert E. Lee Elementary School was ravaged by a fire Tuesday evening in Tampa Heights.
The explosive flames occurred around 7pm, which is when firefighters rushed to the scene, according to Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny.
Officials don’t believe the fire to be suspicious, however they are still investigating the cause of the inferno.
Tampa Fire Rescue crews work to fight a 3-alarm structure fire at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Tampa, Florida
Robert E Lee Elementary Tampa
Posted by Tampa Fire Rescue on Tuesday, 12 September 2017
According to CBS no-one was inside the building when the flames erupted and no injuries have been reported so far.
There are over 300 students and almost 50 members of staff who will have to be displaced after the fire caused the roof of the century-old building to fall in.
The fire comes after community controversy regarding the school’s name, given it is the Confederate General’s name from the American Civil War in 1862.
The explosive flames occurred around 7pm, which is when firefighters rushed to the scene, according to Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny
Residents pictured here overlooking the scene – no-one was inside the building when the flames erupted and no injuries have been reported thus far
More than half of the school’s students are African-American, which has led the members from the Hillsborough County School Board to discuss a potential name change.
Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.
The current controversy in the US regarding Confederate flags and monuments is the reason for the local debate regarding the elementary school that honors the Confederate general.
The building (pictured here) is almost a century old
Parents and students hope to rename it after African American historian Carter G. Wilson, according to News Channel 8.
In August Tulsa World submitted an online vote to their website, asking individuals whether they believe the name should be changed or not.
It currently stands at 4,725 people saying the name should change and 4,524 people saying it should remain the same.
No other information has been released regarding the board members’ decision.
Firefighters made sure to block people off from the scene as they tried to tame the flames
The school, Robert E. Lee Elementary, pictured her pre-fire
The fire comes after community controversy regarding the school’s name, given it is the Confederate General’s name, Robert E. Lee pictured here, from the American Civil War in 1862