Investigation begins into fire that destroyed historic Sedalia church

Fire crews and state and federal investigators spent Thursday at the scene of a blaze that destroyed a historic church in Sedalia.

The fire at the First Methodist Church at 117 W. Fourth St. was reported at 9:49 p.m. Wednesday. A police officer saw smoke billowing from a basement window. The officer then noticed flames through the windows.

Although fire crews arrived within three minutes, heavy flames already were pouring out the upstairs windows of the massive stone structure, Fire Department officials said. The church roof collapsed minutes later.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire. The Pettis County Fire District provided aid to Sedalia fire crews.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. Investigators from the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office and a team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives expected to spend Thursday at the scene.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Investigation begins into fire that destroyed historic Sedalia church."