FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Nearly six months after a tornado demolished a Robins Federal Credit Union branch here, on Feb. 17, a fire destroyed what was to be the newly-constructed branch. Peach County Fire Chief Jeff Doles said that the work crew doing construction on the branch was not on site when they received a call that the building was completely engulfed in flames. Rebuilding had begun on the branch in early January. On Aug. 29, the $870 million CU lost the same Fort Valley branch here after a Hurricane Katrina-related tornado swept through the area. A temporary facility, which was housed in the parking lot of the former location, opened on Sept. 26 but closed on Nov. 25 to make way for the new, permanent branch initially set to open in early 2006. Robins FCU President John Ruffin said, “This is a minor setback as we were only 35 days into the reconstruction of the branch; plans for the reopening will be pushed back to late summer.” According to a Feb. 17 article in the Macon Telegraph, the outer walls of the new building had just gone up, but the roof was not in place yet when the structure caught fire in mid-afternoon. “It was just like a matchbox going up,” Fort Valley Fire Chief Otis Daniel told the publication. “They're going to have to start over.” The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and is under investigation, the CU said.