Overnight fire destroys Elmwood church built in 1911

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This article was published 23/08/2023 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fire ripped through an Elmwood church early Wednesday, gutting a structure built more than 100 years ago.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at the Iglesia de Dios Pentecostes (Church of God — Pentecost) at 420 Tweed Ave. just before 4 a.m.

Pastor Roberto Hernandez said the fire comes as a shock to members of the church, who rely on it as an important community hub.

“I had 23 years… working with the church, the families and the members, so I feel very, very sad,” he said.

Hernandez, whose first language is Spanish, spoke to the Free Press with Juan Sumoza, a member of the church and one of its directors, who sometimes translated questions.

Sumoza said the church isn’t sure how it will operate in the coming days.

“Our hope is that the building will be rebuilt as soon as possible. There’s going to be more investigation about what happened there,” he said. “We don’t really know exactly what the future (will be) like.”

He said the church had insurance for the building, which was constructed in 1911.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said crews couldn’t enter the building because of the extent of the blaze. They used aerial ladders and a drone, which helped find hot spots.

While the fire was declared under control just before 6 a.m., the building partially collapsed and required demolition due to safety concerns, WFPS said. The demolition began Wednesday morning, with fire crews onsite to monitor hot spots.

The WFPS noted firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from destroying a second church building on the south side of the property.

“The church hall was saved from fire by WFPS crews, spokeswoman Erin Madden said in an email. “Care is being taken during the demolition process to not damage that structure. It is likely to have suffered some smoke and/or water damage.”

Sumoza said about 30 to 40 people usually gather at the church, though the congregation was larger before the pandemic.

“Right now, of course, it’s going to affect us because we have to look for another place where (we can) go to gather our service and so on,” he said.

Bryan Savage, who grew up in the area, said he attended Sunday school at the church in the 1980s.

“That’s a historic building. It’s been there forever. It’s so sad. They’re just tearing it all down,” he said.

The church is noted on the City of Winnipeg’s “commemorative list” for historical resources, which recognizes its heritage value. However, it was not added to the city’s list of historical resources, which lists buildings that are protected against demolition.

Known as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church until it was sold in 1976, a city heritage report described the building as a “modest, wood clad church” with a “reduced example of the modern or late gothic revival style.”

Area resident Wade Argo said he was awakened by the noise and saw multiple fire trucks on the street.

“I could see the drone going up in the sky so that they could kind of get above the smoke line. The smoke was so thick in the street, the whole four corners was just covered in smoke at that time so you couldn’t really see much on the ground,” said Argo.

As neighbours watched later in the day, large equipment tore down the remains of the badly damaged structure.

A drum set and speaker system were removed and placed on a nearby sidewalk.

One firefighter suffered an injury and was taken to hospital in stable condition, treated and released, said WFPS. No other injuries were reported. A neighbouring home was also temporarily evacuated as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and a damage estimate is not yet available.

Madden noted WFPS also responded to a separate, small outdoor fire adjacent to the church at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, which did not reach the building.

“(That) fire was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported. Both fires remain under investigation so we cannot speculate on a cause at this time,” she wrote.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga