Early Friday morning, a blaze engulfed the historic Crouch Memorial Church of God in Christ in South Los Angeles, with 66 firefighters battling to contain the flames. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire was reported at 02:40 am at 1001 E 27th St., where the church was ablaze in heavy flames.
In a fight against time and uncertainty of an aging structure, crews aggressively mounted an exterior attack and successfully knocked down the fire. As reported by LAFD, despite contending with partial collapses of the building, there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Crouch Memorial Church, which encapsulated significant historical narratives for Los Angeles' Black community, was constructed in 1896. The fire left authorities piecing together what remains of the sanctified edifice that, according to a statement obtained by FOX LA, had been a beacon during the prohibition movement and later, a hub for African-American worship.
A previous burn had damaged the building over a decade ago, with a fire ravaging its attic and roof in October 2013. The church's plight, once earmarked for restoration, possibly compounded the challenges faced by firefighters early this morning. Working with the dilapidated structure, which sustained partial collapses, they employed hose lines to extinguish the intense flames which took 38 minutes in the culmination of their efforts.
