Fire destroys vacant church in Crawfordsville

The front end of a firetruck. (WISH Photo)

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The Crawfordsville Fire Department is investigating a fire that destroyed a vacant church on Thursday, the department said in a Friday news release.

At 1:34 p.m. Thursday, the Montgomery County Emergency Communication Center dispatched Crawfordsville Fire Department units to the 800 block of Mill Street on a report of smoke coming from a window and an audible smoke detector sounding. The location is a two-story church with a basement, previously home to the One Way Pentecostal Apostolic Church.

Battalion 1 firefighters arrived on the scene within four minutes at 1:38 p.m., reporting smoke visible from the structure. The incident was declared a working structure fire.

Fire crews entered the building, encountering moderate smoke conditions on the first floor and basement, and also discovered a fire in the basement. Within five minutes of arrival, water was applied to the fire while other crews conducted a search of the basement and first floor.

No victims were found inside the structure.

As crews worked to contain the fire, it was determined that the flames had spread through void spaces within the building, likely a result of renovations that created concealed areas. These void spaces allowed the fire to move undetected through the structure, reaching the roof and worsening smoke conditions. Heavy smoke was soon observed escaping from all eaves of the roof.

After 15 minutes into the interior attack, the incident commander deemed the structure unsafe and ordered all firefighters to evacuate. Crews transitioned to a defensive attack, utilizing hand lines and elevated water streams to combat the fire from outside.

Mutual aid was provided by the Waynetown Fire Department, the Madison Township Fire Department, the Crawfordsville Police Department, the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, CEL&P, Indiana American Water Company, and CenterPoint Energy.

The structure has been declared a total loss, with damages estimated at $150,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.