Firefighters find 1 dead amid blaze at vacant KC church. Police investigate cause of fire
Kansas City firefighters battled an overnight fire at a vacant church and found one person dead, a fire department spokesman said.
Crews were dispatched to the 2400 block of Chestnut Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. Firefighters saw smoke and fire showing from inside the church, said Michael Hopkins, a spokesman with the Kansas City Fire Department.
Firefighters brought the fire under control quickly, Hopkins said, as crews worked from the interior of the building.
During their search of the church, crews found a deceased victim. Authorities have not yet identified the victim.
The victim’s age and gender were also not immediately available.
Hopkins said the Kansas City Police Department’s Bomb and Arson Squad and detectives were called to the scene. The cause of the fire and the victim’s cause of death are now under investigation by KCPD.
Hopkins said it is standard protocol to call Bomb and Arson when a fire involves a church.
Capt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for KCPD, said detectives are treating the case as a death investigation. The bomb and arson squad was processing the scene Saturday.
“Detectives will be working with medical examiners as they are the ones to determine the cause and manner of death, which will then guide our investigating from there,” Becchina said.
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 8:35 AM.
