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The Building Commissioner issued two stop -work orders on the site in June. <br />The owner removed interior material from the schoolhouse from April through <br />June. The owner did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him. <br />An inspection in early August determined that the stop -work orders had been <br />ignored, a Mishawaka building permit had been illegally posted, and that the <br />structural support members and materials had been completely removed. The <br />Building Commissioner responded and requested an immediate response from the <br />owner to rectify this violation. <br />During the September 11-12 weekend, the owner began emptying the old garage of <br />warehoused materials and burning debris in three fires around the schoolhouse <br />perimeter. Nearby residents have said that the fires were unattended and still <br />burning through the night of September 11. On Sunday, September 12, another fire <br />was begun behind the schoolhouse and was burning close to the building. The <br />schoolhouse caught fire in this back area of the building and the roof was <br />quickly engulfed by flames. <br />Although the Harris Township Fire Department responded immediately and quickly <br />brought the blaze under control, the structure sustained serious damage and <br />was near collapse due to the lack of any supporting members. The roof collapsed <br />on Tuesday, September 13, 1988. <br />Throughout this period, area residents, the business community, the St. Joseph <br />County Building Commissioner and the Historic Preservation Commission have all <br />repeatedly attempted to gain the owner's compliance with the preservation, <br />zoning and building ordinances related to this property. The owner's response <br />