It was in September of 1891 that the old school being consumed by fire first opened. Principal Aaron H. Manderbach and teachers Miss Hannah Bean and Miss Edith Ermentrout were in charge. This was Ambler's only public school and had a total enrollment on that opening day in 1891 of just 128 students.

Among those watching the burning school were many teachers, one of them Florence Whiteside, who had taught at Forest Avenue for three years. She was heard remarking to fellow teachers Anna Gear, Bessie Dunmoyer and Evelyn Kulp that she had a new camera but didn't remember to bring it along, being almost certain that somebody in the crowd today would have a camera to photograph such a devastating fire. Also watching the school's destruction were Supervising Principal Jacob M. Fisher, Principal Elam E. Kerschner, and teachers Raymond Duncan, Willis Milspaugh and Abram Hunsicker.

Wissahickon Fire Company was assisted by a dozen companies from surrounding regions, a fire such as this having high priority among fire fighters. They tried valiantly for about three hours to save the structure, but all in vain. The building, of brick and stone, had an unusually large number of small window panes, more than a thousand of them, with relatively little masonry support, especially on the upper floor. The fire is believed to have started in the basement, where the heating system, fired by bituminous coal, was located.

Two firemen were overcome by smoke and had to be carried from the first floor of the blazing inferno by their comrades. They were treated on the spot by local physicians present. There was a great danger of both the roof and the upper walls falling in, making it necessary to keep onlookers back at a safe distance. Assisting companies played continuous streams of water on buildings surrounding the school, as well as Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church across Spring Garden Street. Soon the entire roof had fallen in as well as the upper walls.

During the blaze, a group of volunteer ladies, under the leadership of prominent local business woman Carrie Heiss, served hot coffee and lunch. Mrs. Heiss, whose husband Walter had been an active member of the Wissahickon Fire Company until his death in 1912, was one of the largest property owners in Ambler.

Even as the fire continued to burn, the school board was on the scene arranging for the displaced Forest Avenue students to be distributed between the two remaining schools, Mattison Avenue and the High School on Tennis Avenue, without any interruption of their schooling This decision, of course, was regretted by many of the students who were anticipating a long holiday following the fire.

The firemen were called back to the building several times on Monday to extinguish the flames which broke out again in the ruins, in spite of a light snow that had fallen. Following this, watchmen were placed at the fire scene.

The School Board held an emergency meeting the Monday following the fire to discuss rough plans for a new building with local architect Watson Phillips. He suggested that an attempt should be made to use any brick and stone that could be salvaged from the fire, and at this meeting estimated that a new school could be erected in six months. This however did not come about, because it was Fall of the year after the fire before the new building was ready for occupancy.

The new school, completed with fewer window panes than its predecessor, was to serve the school district for many years, with thousands of students passing through its portals, before abandonment as a school. Its final use was as the headquarters for SAGA, only to be abandoned by that group in recent times. Today it serves as the quarters for SAAC, Senior Adult Activities Center in Ambler.