HECTOR, Ark. — The raging fire lit up the sky late last night, and early Friday, it's the smoke that leads you right to the school.
The original Hector Elementary School building -- built in the 1930s -- is now rubble.
"Unbelievable. It's still crazy," said Raigen Graves, a student at the school.
That's what everybody thinks about the place where the elementary students learned art and computer science.
"I didn't think it was true. I thought it was a false alarm and then when I got here it was scary," Graves said.
It took more than a hundred firefighters from neighboring departments to keep the blaze from spreading. The office -- containing student records -- is right behind the burning building.
"This is a tough day and was a tough night for Hector, but we're a strong community and we'll bounce back from it," said School Superintendent Walt Davis.
The building housed more than classrooms and computers. The food pantry was inside, filled with food for needy children to take home every Friday so they wouldn't be hungry over the weekend.
It's called the BackPack Program.
"We pack a backpack with foods that are kid friendly that kids can prepare," said Principal Kathy Freeman.
Freeman said dozens of churches and organizations have agreed to re-stock the shelves in a temporary location.
"It's been phenomenal. People have called just to ask 'What can we do?' or 'What do you need?'" Freeman said.
It's hard to look at the school among its own ashes, but it's the memories that ensure the building lives on.
"{I'll remember} walking down the hall, getting in trouble while talking, and playing in the hall," Graves said.
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