Photo by FireRescue photographer Tim Olk
At approximately 1500 HRS on Jan. 6, a small roof fire quickly grew into a devastating blaze that destroyed one of America’s architectural, cultural and historical landmarks: the Pilgrim Baptist Church located at 3301 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
According to reports, workers were repairing the roof of the church when blowtorches they were using sparked a fire at the southwest corner of the roof. At the height of the fire, the Chicago Fire Department had eight master streams, 56 multiversals, a deluge wagon and four deck guns along with numerous handlines at the scene. In this picture, Truck 15 works on a school that caught fire from the heat of the main fire building.