Flames took hold of a vacant church in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood Friday evening, with the Pittsburgh firefighting crews rushing to the scene after a 6 p.m. call to 148 Jucunda Street. Thick smoke signaled trouble at the once hallowed structure, as firefighters faced a blaze that escalated to necessitate a third alarm for additional manpower, per a release by Pittsburgh Public Safety mentioned in a story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Amidst the urgency, a collective sigh of relief as no injuries surfaced, the structure was abandoned and long retired from its days of worship. In addition to that, emergency crews managed to suppress the main body of the fire within an hour after arrival, though they remained on the ground addressing residual hotspots into the evening.
According to WPXI, the incident concluded with the blaze under control by 7:30 p.m. A rapid response by the city's brave firefighters ensured that the fire did not spread beyond the church walls. Detectives with the city’s Fire Investigation Unit were working to identify the fire’s cause.
