Firefighters Battle Church Fire In SE Oklahoma City

Firefighters battled a fire at a church Monday morning near Southeast Grand Boulevard and High Avenue.

The call originally went out as a grass fire. When crews arrived, they saw one of the buildings at Southeast Iglesia de Christo had also ignited. It was upgraded to a three-alarm commercial fire.

Crews on scene cut ventilation holes in all three connected buildings of the complex.

“The problem with multiple roofs is that creates multiple voids or attics if you will,” said Oklahoma City fire Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson. “If it gets in any of those it can spread quickly. That's how fire spreads so quickly in most businesses."

Fortunately, crews were able to limit fire and water damage to just one of the three building. However, smoke damage was consistent throughout the complex.

A deputy chief with the Oklahoma City Fire Department said the fire in the church was electrical in nature. Firefighters found an electrical meter on the back of the building completely melted.

Investigators are working to determine if the fire started as an electrical issue and spread to the grass, or the other way around.

Crews were able to put out the fire and clear the scene within a few hours.