POTTSTOWN, Pa. – Not much is left of a church on Hanover and Chestnut streets in Pottstown. Fire officials say Friday’s blaze reached five alarms, destroying the vacant church and triggering a massive response.
“Pottstown had a big fire going on. I saw that it was up to five alarms,” said Deputy Chief Brian Rhein of the Exeter Township Fire Department.
The flames were so intense that departments from across the region were called in, including Exeter Township, which rarely responds to Pottstown.
“We responded with our ladder with a crew of three,” Rhein said. “Myself, one of our captains, and another interior firefighter went down.”
When Exeter firefighters arrived, most of the flames were out, but the work wasn’t over.
“We put our aerial all the way up in about the middle of the structure and just started to help them put water on the hot spots…[places] that they couldn’t reach from the ground,” Rhein said.
He added that the help was needed because early crews had been working the scene since sunrise.
“They were just trying to rotate the personnel,” Rhein said.
Demolition is now underway at the site, and the area remains closed to the public.
Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand told 69 News the full investigation officially launched Monday morning and that there are “a lot of factors” investigators are working through.
Pottstown police say no one has been charged in connection with the fire. However, officers did remove several individuals experiencing homelessness from the vacant church in the days before the fire and charged them with trespassing.
Police say the building had been found unlocked twice, and the owner was called each time to secure the property.
Most nearby residents have now been allowed to return home.