KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety responded to a fire at First United Methodist Church on Sunday Morning. The incident occurred at around 8:30 a.m.
According to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, officers first contacted the church’s staff, who was leaving the building. The staff had reported smoke inside of the church. While inspecting the outside of the church, officers discovered that smoke was coming from a downspout in the building. The fire was quickly extinguished by applying water through the downspout and the attached drainage pipe. Officers then searched the interior of the church and saw that there was no extension of the fire.
Both the City of Kalamazoo Fire Marshal and Consumers Energy investigated the cause of the fire. According to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, the cause was a buried electrical source that had become compromised and exposed to the drainage pipe. The exposure led the pipe to melt, smolder, and smoke, which pushed the smoke into the downspout. No one was reported injured.
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at (269)-488-8911 or the Office of the Fire Marshal at (269)-337-8260.