Firefighters yesterday continued trying to control the smoldering remains of the Bellefonte Academy, which was partially destroyed by fire Wednesday.

The fire started between 11 a.m. and noon Wednesday and continued throughout the day, leaving the 199-year-old building unsalvageable. Smoldering remains occasionally flared up yesterday.

"We're trying to knock down a hot spot," Bellefonte Fire Chief Tim Knisely said yesterday afternoon as firefighters continued to hose down the rubble.

The investigation into what started the blaze cannot begin until the building stops burning and becomes stable.

"We're waiting for the building to be secure," Knisely said. "We're waiting for part of the building to be demolished."

State police are already interviewing residents to find out what people saw and heard before the evacuation, and they will soon be trying to gain entry to secure the building, Knisely said.

Fire marshals are awaiting the arrival of equipment to demolish unstable walls before investigating, said Rob Fowler, a 19-year member of the Bellefonte Volunteer Fire Company.

Fowler said the company spent seven-and-a-half hours at the scene Wednesday and spent time today putting out hot spots.

"It had Bellefonte borough fire codes, but that's not much," Fowler said. "We don't have the codes State College has. Nothing around here is 'sprinklered' unless someone puts it in on their own."

Fowler said the building had alarms but not a sprinkler system.

Fowler added he was in the building before it was evacuated.

"When they called evacuation of structure, we were missing two firemen," he said. "Firemen then exited on their own later."

Fowler said the Academy fire was the biggest structure fire in the area in recent years.

"It's fortunate in a fire like that people are alive," Knisely said. "Once everyone was outside, we created [caution zones] and didn't let anybody in."

Knisely said as far as he knows, all residents are accounted for. Twenty-one families -- including 30 adults and six children -- are now homeless as a result of the fire. Nineteen of the 21 families have been interviewed to determine who needs housing accommodations, said Bob Barry, Red Cross Centre communities chapter disaster emergency services director.

Only four of the 21 families are not residing with the Red Cross in the Bellefonte Elementary School. Four to five people still need housing, Barry said.

Judy Corman, a 40-year Academy resident, was in her apartment when the fire alarm sounded.

"I was on the first floor, I grabbed my purse and got out," Corman said. "The fire department took us, made us go into a field and later on made us go further away."

Corman left the fire safely with her 5- and 6-year-old grandsons, who went to stay with a family friend.

"I didn't want the boys to be standing there watching it burn down," Corman said.

She said the Red Cross arrived around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"Everyone has been wonderful," she said. "Not just the Red Cross, but everybody has been going out of their way."

Corman has not been back to see the remains of the building.

"I haven't been back, and I don't want to," she said. "As far as I understand, there's nothing."

The Red Cross gave displaced residents vouchers for rent and a security deposit for a new home, Corman said.

Louis Tanney, a previous landlord of the Academy, said he was devastated. The academy's residents were like family, said Tanner, adding that the closeness made it not a regular apartment building.

Tanney and his family owned the Academy from 1954 to 2003. The building opened in 1805 and was used as a prep school.

"It was the most beautiful building in town, and a national treasure. It was irreplaceable, and now it's gone," Tanney said.