KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A fire in a downspout interrupted services at a Kalamazoo church Sunday morning, but caused minimal damage.
At approximately 08:30 a.m. officers with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety responded to reports of a fire in the 200 block of South Park Street.
Officers arrived at the First United Methodist Church where they met staff exiting the building, who reported light smoke inside. While inspecting the exterior of the building officers observed smoke coming from a downspout on the building.
Officers were able to extinguish the fire quickly by applying water through the downspout and the attached drainage pipe. A search of the interior of the building showed no extension of the fire.
The City of Kalamazoo Fire Marshal and Consumer’s Energy responded to the church to investigate the cause of this fire. It was determined that a buried electrical source had become compromised and was exposed to the drainage pipe described above. This exposure caused the pipe to melt, smolder, and smoke which pushed smoke into the downspout and ultimately into the building.
No one was injured as a result of this occurrence.
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