Fire damages St. Joseph Catholic Church; investigation underway
Firefighters from four departments responded Friday morning to a fire at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wessington Springs that caused significant damage to the building.
The Wessington Springs Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at 9:03 a.m. Friday, Dec. 26, to the church at 507 Barrett Avenue North after reports of smoke billowing from roof vents.
“When we first got on scene, there was heavy smoke billowing from the vents and eaves in the church,” said Wessington Springs Fire Chief Eric Schroeder. “The smoke was heaviest on the west side of the building.”
Firefighters initially made entry on the northwest side of the church, where smoke conditions were most severe. Schroeder said crews located the seat of the fire near the front of the church, but the layout of the building made suppression difficult from that position.
“We initially made entry on the northwest side of building where the heaviest smoke was,” Schroeder said. “We found the seat of the fire was at the front of the church. Due to building layout, though, it was tough for the guys on the northwest side get a good knock down.”
Crews then doubled up their attack and also entered the east side of the building through the main doors.
“Then we started attacking it from the east side through the main entry doors, and we were able to get a good catch on it and get it stopped,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said firefighters encountered significant fire extension within the walls, which made the operation labor-intensive.
“The problem was that there was a lot of extension — that’s where fire breaches inside the walls,” he said. “That’s when it got pretty labor intensive, with the tearing down of walls, and the floor where it got to the basement.”
Once the fire was extinguished, crews began ventilating the structure to clear smoke and locate remaining hot spots.
“Finally with the fire out, we started ventilating to get the smoke out,” Schroeder said. “We started making vents in the roof, and got the smoke cleared. That helped us find the hot spots where the fire extended into the walls and ceilings. The ceiling has been pulled down, you can see straight out to the sky”
According to Schroeder, fire damage was contained to the front of the church located in the west side of the building. There was no fire damage to the parish hall or bathroom area on the south side of the building, and no fire extension into the additions on either side of the church. However, smoke and water damage occurred throughout the entire structure.
Mutual aid was provided by the Alpena Volunteer Fire Department, Town and Country Woonsocket Volunteer Fire Department and Gann Valley Volunteer Fire Department. A total of 39 firefighters responded to the scene. Five personnel from Jerauld County Ambulance and members of the Jerauld County Sheriff’s Office were also on scene.
The fire is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. More information will be released once the investigation is complete.