SOUTH MANSFIELD, La. (AP) -- The village hall that has served South Mansfield for more than 50 years was destroyed after two fires that authorities believe were intentionally set.
Equipment and files in the building were destroyed, meaning there will be little to move into a residence that was already being converted into a new village hall.
The building was heavily damaged but still standing late Friday after firefighters doused a blaze that started in the rear of the two-room building around 6 p.m.
Initially, firefighters said the origin of the fire appeared to be near the building's electrical break box. Firefighters entering the building took note of a broken window, but thought it might have been caused by the intense heat.
The second fire broke our early Saturday morning, gutting the building. Firefighters said Sunday that arson was a likely cause of both fires.
``It was called in as a rekindle. But it didn't rekindle eight hours,'' DeSoto Fire District No. 8's Lt. Dallas Niette said Sunday. ``It was kind of suspicious the first time, but more so the second time. When we got to the scene it was fully involved, both buildings.''
DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Office Sgt. Brett Cooper said the state fire marshal would visit the scene this week.
``It does appear to be arson,'' Cooper said.
A block to the west of the destroyed building is a converted residence that will be the new Village Hall. While the renovation work that's gone on the past few years recently passed a fire marshal inspection, village officials had delayed moving in until a concrete parking area could be completed this week.
South Mansfield, a separate municipality from neighboring Mansfield, has a small tax base and often struggles to find funds outside of grants to pay for anything beyond basic services. The village did not have insurance on the burned building, Patterson said Friday, because it was dropped by its former carrier. Efforts to obtain new insurance coverage have not been successful.
