Cause of 3-alarm fire at historic West Philly church under investigation
The Greater Bible Way Temple at 52nd and Warren Streets opened as St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church in 1904. Firefighters were still pouring water onto the embers Wednesday.
The scene the day after a fire at the Greater Bible Way Temple on the corner of 52nd and Warren Streets in West Philadelphia.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of a three-alarm blaze that engulfed a 115-year-old stone church in the Parkside section of West Philadelphia.
Investigators are aware of cell-phone video that was taken before the fire erupted Tuesday and showed a worker with a propane tank on the roof of the Greater Bible Way Temple at 52nd and Warren Streets, but have not yet pinpointed the cause, officials said.
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After pouring water on the church all night to dampen hot spots, firefighters returned around 12:25 p.m. Wednesday to deal with a small fire that had rekindled in a window sill.
Officials from the city Department of Licenses and Inspections the meantime were working with church leaders on securing the site.
Fire Department officials earlier expressed concerns about the possible collapse of parts of the heavily damaged building.
The fire was reported around 2:45 p.m., and arriving firefighters found “fire showing on the roof line and smoke coming from the steeple,” the Fire Department posted on Twitter.
The second alarm was struck just before 3 p.m. and the third around 5 p.m. The fire was declared under control shortly after 6 p.m.
Members of Greater Bible Way Temple watch as the church burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Pedestrians watch as Philadelphia Fire Department puts out a fire at the Greater Bible Way Temple on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia firefighters go on top of a roof on Warren St., to put out a fire at the Greater Bibleway Temple Inc on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
A multiple alarm and special call of a fire at the Greater Bibleway Temple Inc is being put out by West Philadelphia Fire Department on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
A fire burns at at the Greater Bible Way Temple at the corner of 52nd and Warren Streets in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed / Staff Photographer
A multiple alarm and special call of a fire at the Greater Bibleway Temple Inc is being put out by West Philadelphia Fire Department on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
A multiple alarm and special call of a fire at the Greater Bibleway Temple Inc is being put out by West Philadelphia Fire Department on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
Firefighters respond to a fire at Bible Way Baptist Church, located at 1323 N 52nd Street in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
Firefighters respond to a fire at Bible Way Baptist Church, located at 1323 N 52nd Street in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
Church members gather, as a fire burns at at the Greater Bible Way Temple at the corner of 52nd and Warren Streets in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.Read more / Staff Photographer
Greater Bible Way Temple burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Benjamin Peterson Jr., Senior pastor at Greater Bible Way Temple, hugs his niece, Felicia Peterson, who is a lifelong member of the church, as it burns in a two-alarm fire at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Members of the neighborhood watch as Greater Bible Way Temple burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Members of Greater Bible Way Temple who declined to provide their names gather as the church burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Greater Bible Way Temple burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
People in West Philadelphia watch as Greater Bible Way Temple burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Greater Bible Way Temple burns at the corner of 52 and Warren St. Tuesday, August 27, 2019. The first alarm was around 2:45 p.m. and the second at approximately 3:00 p.m.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
No injuries were reported at the church, which houses a child care center. Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said a person near the scene was taken to a hospital.
About 75 Fire Department personnel responded to the former St. Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church, built in 1904. The parish was founded in 1895 and closed in 1981, according to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia website.
In 2011, the building that formerly housed St. Gregory’s Parish School on nearby Lancaster Avenue was destroyed in a fire.
Firefighters remained at the scene all night dampening hot spots in the building.
Staff writer Joseph A. Gambardello contributed to this article.
