Four teens arrested in connection with fire that destroyed a nearly 100-year-old train depot

Four teenagers have been arrested after a massive fire destroyed a nearly 100-year-old train depot in Florida.

The train depot, better known as the Seaboard Air Line Station, was built in 1927 and was used as a train station until 1991. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Officials were alerted to the fire Tuesday by a 911 caller who reported seeing heavy smoke coming from the vacant train station and also told police that they saw four young boys running from the building, Delray Beach Fire Rescue said in a statement.

“This was a pretty big fire,” Dani Moschella, a spokesperson with the DBFR, told CNN affiliate WPTV. “(With) breezy conditions today it did make the fire pretty big (and) it took a while to fight it.”

About 30 fire and rescue units, including from nearby Palm Beach County Rescue, were on the scene to contain the blaze at the 7,500-square-foot building.

One firefighter was injured after the force of the fire knocked him down shortly after he arrived on scene, fire officials said. He suffered burns to his ears and neck and was transported to the hospital. The injured firefighter has since been discharged and is recovering at home, according to fire officials.

Delray Beach Police Department detectives obtained footage from a nearby business that showed the boys running from the train depot. Officers were able to identify and locate all four teens at Atlantic Community High School, where they are students.

The teens were transported to a Juvenile Assessment Center and will be charged with burglary and arson, according to DBFR.

The train station is one of six historic sites in Delray Beach. The building was bought by the city in 2005, according to DBFR, with discussions about renovating the site. In recent years, it was used to store the city’s maintenance equipment.