Flames tear through church in Pittsburgh; firefighter taken to hospital, man arrested at scene

PITTSBURGH — Flames tore through a church in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood on Tuesday.

Click here for photos from the scene.

Allegheny County dispatchers said they received a call from the intersection of Kearsarge Street and Fetzer Street at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday.

The fire was happening at the former Grandview United Presbyterian Church on the 300 block of Grandview Avenue.

Dispatchers said a three-alarm response was called to the scene.

Firefighters said it took four minutes for them to arrive.

A Channel 11 photographer arrived at the scene at around 6:30 p.m. Shortly after, flames began to burn through the roof and out of the church’s windows.

Firefighter taken to hospital

At 6:53 p.m., a spokesperson from Pittsburgh Public Safety shared information saying that no one was injured at the scene.

At 7:38 p.m., that changed when a firefighter was taken to a hospital to be evaluated by medics.

A fire official later told Channel 11 that the firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

Firefighters do not believe anyone was inside the building when the fire started and said no other injuries have been reported.

Man taken into custody at the scene

At 8:18 p.m., Pittsburgh Police said a person had been arrested at the scene.

A public information officer said that the man was Colton Normand. Police said he was initially arrested on an unrelated warrant.

According to the criminal complaint, Normand ran right toward the church as it was on fire. He then ran to a window on the left side and told police he wanted to look at the fire.

Police said when they asked, Normand gave them a wrong name.

At this time, he is charged with obstructing emergency services, obstructing administration of law or other governmental function, and false identification to law enforcement.

Other charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

Plans were in the works for the site of the former church

Just last month, Channel 11’s Rachel Pierce learned that a developer had proposed building a nine-story residential building, which would have required the church’s demolition.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 9-story high-rise planned on site of Mt. Washington church, though some neighbors not sold

At that time, City Councilwoman Kim Salinetro told Channel 11 that she believed the church was “near ready to collapse.”

9-story high-rise planned on site of Mt. Washington church, though some neighbors not sold A developer has proposed building a nine-story residential building at 301 Grandview Ave., requiring the church on the lot to be demolished.

Massive cloud of smoke draws eyes from across Pittsburgh

Channel 11’s tower camera captured the thick smoke filling the Mt. Washington skyline.

Channel 11's tower camera captures smoke filling Mt. Washington skyline as church fires burns Channel 11’s tower camera captured the thick smoke filling the Mt. Washington skyline.

Fans at PNC Park who were attending the Pirates’ game could also see smoke over the Pittsburgh skyline.

Smoke from church fire in Pittsburgh visible from PNC Park Smoke from a large church fire in Mt. Washington was visible from PNC Park on Tuesday.

Firefighters face unexpected challenges

Channel spoke with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Assistant Chief Mathew Davis, who said the situation was complex.

“One of the big things is the size of the structure and the complexity of the structure. So multiple floors, different angles, different walls. Over the years, buildings change, so we were chasing fire throughout the building. As we were finding things, more fire would pop up behind us,” Davis said.

Neighbors left shocked by the fast-spreading flames

A Channel 11 photographer spoke with Joe Martinelli Jr. and his daughter Marissa Martinelli, who were getting gas nearby when they smelled rubber burning.

“I thought it was a car on fire,” Joe Martinelli Jr. said. “Started seeing the smoke coming, I heard a guy yell, ‘Looks like the church!’ We come up across and beat the firetrucks here and then, looked like there was this little fire, all of a sudden it just took off.”

“It happened so quick,” Marissa Martinelli said.

Neighbors react to massive fire at church in Pittsburgh Allegheny County dispatchers said they received a call from the intersection of Kearsarge Street and Fetzer Street at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday.

Roof of Grandview United Presbyterian Church collapses as fire burns

As the fight continued, the church’s roof collapsed.

Channel 11’s Frederick Price spoke with Sam Fewster, who lives on Mt. Washington and watched that unfold.

“We were just watching as the flames were gathering and growing and eventually the roof caved in and, yeah, it was pretty epic,” Fewster said.

Pittsburgh Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections have condemned the building.

A demolition was ordered on Tuesday, but it wasn’t immediately clear when the demolition would happen.

The city is working directly with the owners regarding the demolition.

Fire placed under control, firefighters continue to work overnight

At around 9 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said the fire was under control.

“These guys work hard. They’re trying to keep it to the main structure too, so they’re working their butts off today,” Assistant Chief Davis said.

While firefighters said the flames are not expected to spread to neighboring buildings, there is still work to be done that will continue overnight.

“We are still chasing hot spots. There’s some [spots] we can’t access from the street. We are going to try to reposition some ladders to get to those more secluded spots and get it knocked down completely. We’ll probably be watching it all night,” Davis said.

The Pittsburgh Police Drone Unit is helping firefighters spot those hot spots from above.

A Pittsburgh Public Safety official said crews will build barricades overnight to help steady the building, which is showing signs of instability.

Drone video highlights damage

Drone 11 provides new perspective of devastating abandoned church fire damage

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