Vacant Church Destroyed in Fire

A vacant two-story church on Mill Street was destroyed by fire last week.

The building, previously home to the One Way Pentecostal Apostolic Church, was declared a total loss, with damages estimated at $150,000, according to the Crawfordsville Fire Department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Around 1:30 on the afternoon of Dec. 26, the Montgomery County Emergency Communication Center dispatched Crawfordsville Fire Department units to 802 Mill St. for a report of smoke coming from a window and an audible smoke detector sounding.

Battalion 1 arrived on the scene within four minutes, 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 thorough primary search of the basement and first floor. No one was found inside the structure.

As crews worked to contain the fire, it was determined that 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.

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