Live updates: Extra-alarm fire destroys historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Englewood

On Friday night with the fire out, the smoke was still rising and peaking through the broken glass. An image of Jesus stood above the ashes.

Firefighters were still working to put out hot spots as of 10 p.m. CBS 2's Sabrina Franza and her crew were staged back in case any of the structure falls.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a thread of tweets Friday evening in the wake of the fire.

"My thoughts are with the congregation and the brave firefighters who worked to put out the blaze at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. Antioch is an anchor in Englewood, and I hope those impacted will find solace in their vibrant church community and their faith," the mayor wrote.

Pastor Dew said late Friday that he has not yet learned of a possible cause for the fire.

Church officials noted that full-capacity services only resumed at the church in early March, after being curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the fire was brought under control, Pastor Dew was canvassing the area and talking to the firefighters who worked so hard to put the fire out.

The pastor reiterated that the church is so much more than just a building to the area.

Dew said the Good Friday service started at noon, and everyone was out around 2 p.m. He got news a little later that the church was on fire.

When he got the call, he saw the smoke billowing from all the way from 95th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway. He rushed up to the church – only to see the fire get worse.

But he emphasized what is important is the congregation is OK.

"The church is not a building. The church is the people – and there was no injuries; no loss of life. So the church is still alive. The church is still open. I just know we will have Easter service," Rev. Dew said. "We will celebrate. We will rejoice. We will praise the Lord." 

As of 5 p.m., hoses were still stretched across 63rd Street and Stewart Avenue, and fire cranes were still in the air.

The Fire Department said it was fortunate in a way that the fire happened on Friday rather than during the high wind warning the day before. The strong winds on Thursday could have sent the fire spreading to other buildings.

The Rev. Gerald M. Dew, pastor of the church, talked with reporters late Friday afternoon.

"I want to speak directly to the members of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. If you're listening today – know this. If we've got to lose something, losing it on Good Friday is the best time to lose it – because after Good Friday comes Resurrection Sunday," Dew said. "God has something better for all of us that love and belong to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church."

Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Donald Walker said the fire at Antioch Missionary Baptist was first reported at 2:16 p.m. It was raised to a 2-11 alarm at 2:25 p.m., and a 3-11 alarm at 3:07 p.m.

Each alarm brings more equipment and manpower to the scene.

Responding companies found heavy fire coming from the roof. The roof is a truss roof – a kind of construction that is prone to collapsing once heavy fire has reached it.

By 4:30 p.m., the fire was contained, but firefighters were still chasing hot spots.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Friday afternoon.

The historical importance of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in the Englewood community cannot be overstated.

The church has built housing up and down 63rd Street and elsewhere in Englewood and beyond. The church has also offered social services.

Under the Rev. Dr. Wilbur Nathan Daniel, the church founded the nonprofit Antioch Foundation. The foundation became the sponsoring entity of the Eden Green development at 131st Street and Indiana Avenue – for which Antioch said it became the first church in the country to take advantage of Section 202 of the National Housing Act. The act, passed during the Eisenhower Administration, provided government loans for nonprofits to develop low- to moderate-income housing.

The first families at Eden Green moved in on Sept. 1, 1968, the church said.

Antioch went on to develop more affordable housing – including the Antioch Haven Homes, the Roseanna Burrell Homes, the Wentworth Haven Homes, the Rose Haven Manor, the Paradise Haven Homes, the West Haven Homes, and the Normal Haven Homes.

Antioch also became a multi-site church as it developed housing.

Several people came out to watch the fire – many of them lifetime members of the church.

One man who said he is 31 years old said he was watching his childhood memories burn with the church. He said the church was so much more than just a church for him and his family.

"It's a lot of childhood memories going down in these flames right now. I grew up here – I did Sunday school, vacation Bible school, drill team, mime team, youth choir, everything," said the man, Jerell Clay.

"I'm hurt. I'm hurt. I understand that it's just a building – I understand that. I know the church is in your heart," added parishioner Tara Phillips. "But this is a building that we have been coming to for years. It's been a staple in this community for years."

The Fire Department said the 3-11 alarm for the fire at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was struck out around 4 p.m., meaning the fire had been brought under control. The CFD is expected to address the news media later in the hour.

A source from Preservation Chicago says the church building is not a designated Chicago landmark – but the organization believes it should have been.

The church building at Stewart and Englewood avenues is rated in the Chicago Historical Resources Survey, and dates back from the 1880s, and was designed by the architectural firm Bell & Swift.

The church was built in the Romanesque style, the source said.

It began as the Englewood Baptist Congregational Church before becoming the Englewood Missionary Baptist Church, the source said.

The winds were out of the west Friday afternoon. They were not nearly as gusty as the winds that caused widespread damage in the Chicago area on Thursday.

Thus, the smoke is blowing due east toward the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Wind speeds were around 25 to 30 mph as of around 3:30 p.m.

The Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1925 by the Rev. E.H. Branch. The church congregation originally worshipped in Bronzeville and later Washington Park.

Under the Rev. Dr. Wilbur Nathan Daniel, Antioch Missionary Baptist moved into its Englewood home in 1958. The church bought the structure for $200,000, with another $75,000 needed for remodeling before moving in.

CBS 2's Jim Williams noted the Rev. Daniel was very involved in civic affairs and was friends with mayors and other city leaders.

A Good Friday service had been held at the church at noon, about two and a half hours before the fire.

People were standing near the burning church in shock Friday afternoon. Some had only been out of the Good Friday service at the church for a few hours.

One woman standing and watching had been going to the church since she was 10 years old.

The woman said she had not spoken to the pastor, but she said he had delivered a beautiful sermon for Good Friday.

Police were closing off streets farther and farther back from the church. On the north side of the church, Graves saw smoke billowing from a window near the roof of the church.

CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports the fire was easily able to accelerate in high spaces that are not readily accessible to hose lines. Between that and the heavy timber construction of the roof, the fire was easily able to grow out of control.

Firefighters trained hose lines from tower ladder trucks. They went for a defensive operation from the outside, with no firefighters fighting the blaze from inside the building.

The fire completely burned away the roof structure, leaving a lot of heavy timber crashing to the floor of the church. Pews were also likely on fire inside the structure.

Firefighters are expected to be battling the blaze well into the evening.