PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A fire tore through an abandoned church in West Philadelphia early Monday morning.
The building, formerly home to White Rock Baptist Church, along the 5500 block of Market Street, is close to the 56th Street L Station. David Brown lives nearby.
“I woke up, went in my yard and I saw the flames. I ran and called the fire department,” he said.
He said the flames were so strong and bright, it looked like a sunrise.
Several ladder trucks blasted water at the church building that has been vacant for years. Much of the roof collapsed, but the stone exterior is still standing.
“These older Gothic-style large churches are built to stand,” said Deputy Chief Anthony Bompadre.
“A lot of heavy timber and wood, that lent itself to the large volume of fire we had on arrival.”
Bompadre credited the first crews that arrived around 3:30 a.m. for tackling the heavy flames and for making sure that the fire didn’t spread to the homes and businesses on the block. It took about two hours to get the fire under control.
No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Five homes were evacuated as a precaution, and the Red Cross is helping 10 people.
The 56th Street L Station is closed, and trains are skipping the stop until further notice, though the elevated tracks were not damaged.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.