Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

F.W. Richardson, a longtime resident of Pulaski who lives about a mile from the station, thinks the slate roof and stone walls trapped and intensified the heat of the fire that destroyed the Pulaski train station overnight.

Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

The train station, before and after the fire.

The stone walls are nearly all that remain of the old Pulaski train station.
 
The Washington Street station, which most recently housed the Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Museum, caught fire and burned throughout the early morning hours. It is considered a total loss.
 
Dennis Myers, who lives near the station, called 911 at 12:06 a.m. to report the blaze. He said he and his brother-in-law drove by and saw fire coming out the windows.
 
"We heard the glass blowing out," Myers said today as he looked at what remains of the building. "It was a lot of fire."
 
Pulaski Fire Chief Bill Webb said it took crews from the Pulaski, Draper, Dublin, Newbern and Fairlawn fire departments more than two hours to gain control of the blaze and several more to extinguish it completely.
 
Fire crews finally left the building at 9 a.m. The fire marshal is on site now, trying to determine the source of the blaze.
 
"It appears to be a total loss," Webb said.
 
Bulldozers were on site this morning, moving charred boards, broken glass and other debris from the building. About half the roof had caved in.
 
The building originally opened in 1888, was renovated in the 1980s and recently got a new slate roof. It was filled with the town's historic artifacts, including photographs, items from the founding industries and the town's railroad past, newspapers chronicling important events locally and nationally and a model railroad display. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
 
Webb said firefighters were able to get some of the artifacts out of the building but is unsure how badly they are damaged.
 
John White, the town's economic development director, said he was depressed by the loss.
 
"It's a tremendous tragedy for the area," he said. "It was sort of a crown jewel of historical preservation in the community."