Fire Damages West Side Church
CHICAGO (STMW) - Firefighters extinguished an extra-alarm blaze Saturday morning that caused extensive damage to a West Side church.
Crews responded just after 6 a.m. to 3540 W. 15th St. for a reported fire, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva said.
The New Life Temple church located at the 15th Street address.
Firefighters encountered flames through the roof of the church, and the fire was elevated to a second alarm, according to Roccasalva.
"It appears it started on the first floor, near the pulpit,''according to police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli. It was not known if any religious artifacts were destroyed.
The fire was extinguished about 6:40 a.m., Roccasalva said. There was extensive damage to the interior of the building.
No injuries were reported, Roccasalva said.
"It was devastating. We've been working on this church for 11 years. To see all our hard work in flames is really something to imagine," Louis Wimbley, grandson of the church's pastor, told CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli.
But Wimbley says the church has stood for more than 70 years. And he says his family has no intention of letting that legacy of worship go up in smoke.
"We are going to come together and have worship still," he said.
The Gethsemene Star Missionary Baptist Church may allow New Life members to use their facilities until the church the neighbor church is repaired.
The blaze is being investigated by the Office of Fire Investigation and the Police Bomb & Arson Section.
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