A fire in Kiryas Joel is being investigated as a possible arson.

Just after 4 p.m. Monday, flames ripped through trailers that used to house a school for hasidic girls.

Firefighters struggled to get water on the largely deserted campus on Mountain Road. The thick smoke could be seen from as far away as Port Jervis.

The girls had been moved to another location about two weeks ago, and the trailers were vacant at the time of the fire.

The trailers sit partially on Kiryas Joel land and partially on Monroe land.

Monroe Town Supervisor Harley Doles says he wonders if someone might have started the blaze on purpose. "Somehow, coincidentally, the school closed and within hours the school is burning down," he says.

The Monroe fire chief says so far he doesn't believe the blaze was caused by foul play, but he is not ruling anything out.

No injuries have been reported.