Heavy smoke poured out of an apparently abandoned church on Milwaukee's North Side on Wednesday, sending a dark column into the sky that could be seen for blocks and drawing a fast response from city firefighters. Crews converged near North 26th Street and West Auer Avenue while neighbors watched from a safe distance.
According to WISN, smoke was spotted coming from a roof hatch as firefighters stretched hose lines to attack the flames. The station reported that the building was boarded up and appeared abandoned while crews worked to bring the fire under control.
Crews Breached the Building to Fight Flames
Firefighters "broke down doors and started attacking the fire inside the building," WISN reported, as ladder trucks and engine companies deployed hose lines to reach pockets of smoke inside. Officials kept crews on scene to shield nearby properties while they worked to knock down the blaze.
Vacant Buildings Add Extra Hazards
Boarded or vacant structures can conceal smoldering fires in walls, attics and hidden voids, creating dangerous conditions for firefighters and raising the odds of a larger and more complicated response, the National Fire Protection Association has warned. Federal fire-safety data from the U.S. Fire Administration also notes that fires in vacant buildings are often harder to detect and more likely to demand aggressive resources, which is why departments take extra precautions on these calls.
What to Watch For
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, and crews remained on scene Wednesday as investigations were expected to follow. We will update this post as fire officials release more details.
