BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Vacant buildings at the Seventh Day Adventist Academy caught fire Monday afternoon though the school itself was never threatened.

This was the third fire in about three years at the church academy on Bernard Street.

The buildings are located in a back lot away from the school and have been fenced off, but suspicious fires continue to break out in the buildings.

Because of previous fires, it was actually a much more dangerous situation for crews because the flames were fanned easier with open spaces in the buildings.

Capt. Garth Milam of the Bakersfield City Fire Department said the fire is under investigation and that someone was seen fleeing the scene.

The last time the same buildings caught fire was in December 2006. At that time the fires were suspicious too.

One person was even arrested for trespassing, though it wasn't linked to the fire.

Prior to that fire, the empty building caught fire in September 2005.

As for the buildings, Milam said that they need to just be torn down or they are going to just continue having fires there.