An east Indianapolis church became the scene of a significant fire yesterday afternoon, leading to extensive damage to the structure, authorities reported. The Indianapolis Fire Department was dispatched to the Church of the Living God, located in the 7200 block of East 38th Street near Shadeland Avenue, following a 911 call made around 1:15 p.m., according to WTHR. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke billowing from the church’s roof and soon discovered a fire raging in the attic that had spread through the building.
The fire, which was declared under control by around 3:30 p.m., resulted in no reported injuries as no one was present inside the church at the onset of the blaze. Fire investigators from both the IFD and IMPD have deemed the incident accidental, citing an "overloaded power strip" as the cause that sparked a fire within a wall, which then traveled to the attic space, as noted by a spokesperson of the IFD to WTHR. In a remarkable effort to salvage what they could, firefighters successfully rescued a 50-year-old organ from the collapsed area of the church.
Bishop Alexander Wortham, who witnessed the construction of the Church of the Living God, expressed his deep emotional connection to the building, recognizing that while the structure could be replaced, human lives could not be. "Those things can be replaced. The building can be replaced but the main thing that can't be replaced are lives. I’m thankful and grateful to God no one was in the building," he told WISH-TV. With a congregation of about 30-40 members and various satellite churches across the country, the bishop spoke of the church’s significant impact, including seeing lives changed and people saved, and now the resolve to rebuild in the face of destruction.
Responding to the incident, the Indianapolis Fire Department deployed 22 units and a contingent of 52 firefighters, while support also came from six units with the City of Lawrence Fire Department. The first responders reached the scene approximately around 1:25 p.m., with the majority of the flames confined to the church's attic and roof. Additionally, during the blaze, resolute efforts were made to ensure power was restored at a nearby daycare that was affected by the incident, as highlighted by FOX59. The IFD stated that further investigation confirmed a power strip overload as the initial trigger for the fire, that subsequently engulfed the church’s wall and spread rapidly throughout the attic.
