Investigation into church fire continues

March 19-- Mar. 19--An area demolition company on Monday began removing tons of charred debris from the site of a church destroyed by fire Friday morning, while fire investigators continued their probe into the cause of the blaze.

Plans are to once more close the street in front of the Foundation of Life Ministries church building at 134 E. Sherman on Tuesday to begin knocking down the half of the gutted building that was still standing.

A block of Poplar Street between First Avenue and Sherman was expected to remain closed most of the week.

Fire investigators have completed their examination inside the remains of the house of worship, also known as McGee Chapel, said Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer.

Local, state and national fire investigators, however, are continuing to interview people in connection with the church and the fire, Beer said.

State and federal authorities automatically were called in to investigate because the fire involved a church.

A Hutchinson Police officer on patrol spotted fire in the second story of the two-story building just before midnight Friday. Firefighters battled the multi-alarm blaze for nearly four hours before bringing the fire under control.

The fire gutted the nearly 11,000 square foot building that was converted in the early 2000s from the Johnson and Sons Funeral Home.

The structure was composed of at least four separate buildings constructed over the years, starting in 1872. There were numerous "void" spaces in the structure created as new buildings were added or parts of the building remodeled over the decades, Beer said, creating a challenge for firefighters.

"I'm sure it was remodeled numerous times over its 100-plus year," Beer said. "Being a wind-driven fire in an old building, and all the void spaces, it's just hard to contain a fire of that origin."

The fire department pulled the south half of the church structure down on Friday because of the building's instability and to be able to access and put out hot spots protected by rubble, Beer said.

The department, however, has no intention of demolishing the rest of the structure.

"That's up to their insurance company," the fire chief said, noting the scene has been turned over to the church, and its insurance company investigators will determine when and how it's torn down. "The fire department is not into demolition."

The News was unable to reach officials with the church, however, an employee of Rick's Dozer Service, which was removing the debris from the demolished half of the building Monday afternoon said plans are to close Poplar Street starting 8 a.m. Tuesday and knock the rest down.

The company then has the rest of the week to clear the site, the employee said.

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