Fire burns down Grandview church; no indication of foul play or criminal activity found
Update: Fire investigators with the Grandview Fire Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Kansas City completed an initial investigation and found no indication of foul play or criminal activity, the ATF said Thursday afternoon.
An early morning fire swept through the Impact Apostolic Church in Grandview, destroying the church’s building, Grandview Fire Chief Ron Graham said Thursday.
Firefighters responded to the blaze shortly after 12:30 a.m. Initially, it was reported as a house fire, but when fire crews arrived they found that the church was engulfed in flames, Graham said. The church is located along East Frontage Road south of Main Street.
Arriving firefighters reported that flames were showing on the backside of the building and that the roof was starting to sag, he said.
After firefighters entered the building, the fire operations chief pulled them from the structure out of fears that the roof could collapse on them, Graham said.
At that point, firefighters battled the blaze in a defensive mode, spraying water on the flames from ladder trucks.
“Once you do that, you know, you’re going to pretty much lose the building,” Graham said. “That is what happened. The roof collapsed.”
After about 2 1/2 hours of pouring water on the fire, firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. It was reported out at about 3 a.m. About three dozen firefighters from Belton, Grandview and Kansas City responded.
Fire investigators with the Grandview Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed their initial investigation Thursday afternoon and found no indication of criminal activity or foul play, the ATF Kansas City said on Twitter.
While there were no injuries, the church’s building is a total loss, Graham said.
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 8:22 AM.
