A Thanksgiving Day fire at Englewood's Renewal Life Church has the community assessing damages and planning for recovery. The blaze began on Thursday afternoon, with Chicago firefighters responding to reports of heavy smoke and flames. According to NBC Chicago, 20 fire companies were dispatched to tackle the inferno, which was finally extinguished at 4:01 p.m.
The fire's intensity led to a collapse of the church structure, and more than 200 ComEd customers experienced temporary power outages as a result. Footage captured on-site depicted the severity of the event as firefighters fought the blaze amidst strong winds that spread a smoke that could be seen for over a mile. Despite the magnitude of the event, fire officials confirmed that the church was empty during the fire.
Donna Brown, a deaconess at Renewal Life Church, shared her shock and sorrow over the incident. "I was like, in unbelief, like, oh my God," Brown told CBS News Chicago. A Thanksgiving event for the homeless, originally slated to be held at the church, had been moved to an alternate location before the catastrophe, allowing the church to be empty and averting potential injuries.
Brown expressed gratitude that no one was harmed and shared that the church's leadership will be meeting to plan the next steps. "The leaders are going to sit and have a conversation to see where are we going to go from here. Hopefully, we can rebuild, and we can get people to help with the rebuilding," she said. The spirit of resilience is evident as the church turns to its faith in this time of adversity. "What we're going to do at Renewal Life is trust in God, trust his process, trust everything that he's been doing for us, and what he's gonna do for us in the future," Brown added.
Curiously, firefighters were called back to the scene on Friday morning due to a rekindling of the fire, which sent smoke wafting from the collapsed remains of the church. The investigation into the cause of the original blaze is ongoing, with further reports awaited as officials sift through the wreckage. Flames and smoke from the fire may have dissipated, but the impact of this event on the Englewood community continues to smolder.
