Firemen quickly brought a two-alarm fire under control at a church on 20th Street near San Carlos.
Deputy Chief Mark Gonzalez said the fire started in the attic area of the church at 3541 20th Street at around 2:45 p.m. Some 20 firetrucks and 72 firemen were on the scene.
Assistant Chief Dave Franklin said when they responded to the first alarm, the roof was on fire and smoke was pouring out of the church. One fireman said that it might have been roofers who were working on the church roof, but the cause is still under investigation.
Franklin added they did “an aggressive interior attack” and “kept [the fire] from getting to the exterior.” They had to pump a lot of water into the church, he said, and cut a hole through the 2nd floor to prevent flooding. At 4 p.m. water was still pouring out of the church.
Another fireman said later they had the blaze under control in 20 minutes.
There were no injuries to either firemen or those nearby. A dog was inside in a cage but was brought out unharmed, firemen waiting for animal control to pick it up.
Franklin said he was “very proud” of what his firefighters accomplished. Earlier, Deputy Chief Gonzalez said that it was not easy to stop church fires, and that firemen had done a “very good job.”
(A reader tipped us off on the fire. Thank you.)
