CATASTROPHIC 3-ALARM FIRE RIPS THROUGH 1920’S CHURCH IN RIVERSIDE; NO INJURIES REPORTED, BUT DAMAGE EXCEEDS 2,500,000.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA:
No one was inside a church in Riverside early Sunday morning
when a catastrophic fire broke out, officials said.
Thirty-eight firefighters responded about 1:08 a.m. to
the Living World Christian Center, located in the 4200 block of 11th Street,
where heavy smoke and flames were emitting from the roof of the the
single-story building, according to a news release from the Riverside Fire
Department.
After about 18 minutes of battling the three-alarm blaze,
firefighters inside the historical structure reported a running fire in the
attic and the possibility of structural collapse, the release said.
Shortly after the interior crew was withdrawn from the
church, the roof collapsed, officials said. Two ladder trucks were then used to
attack the flames from above.
The fire was extinguished within two hours. No injuries were
reported.
Arson investigators from the Fire Department and the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to the scene and were
working to determine the cause of the incident, fire Chief Michael Moore said.
The damage to the 1920s-era building was estimated at
$2,500,000.
