Durham firefighters investigating blaze that destroyed abandoned church near downtown

Mary Helen Moore, Mark Schultz

The Durham Fire Department is investigating a blaze that reduced an abandoned church to rubble near downtown Thursday morning.

The fire partially collapsed the large brick building, which is owned by the Durham Rescue Mission. It is located on the southwest corner of East Main and South Holman streets.

Deputy Fire Chief Chris Ianuzzi said they received a 911 call about the fire at 7:52 a.m.. Twenty units responded, but the fire was already well underway.

“It was too dangerous to make entry,” Ianuzzi said, adding several walls collapsed while firefighters were on scene.

“Once the wood framing goes up, the brick has nothing to hold it up,” he said.

Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.

Earl Jones, who lives nearby, said he saw the smoke around 8 a.m.

“It was a huge plume of black smoke,” he said. “It’s already given me a raspy, bad feeling in the throat.”

The church had been abandoned and boarded up for many years, Jones said. He said he never saw people going inside.

Rob Tart, CEO of the Rescue Mission, said no one was supposed to be in the building and it was not connected to electricity or gas. Tart said they did not know the cause of the fire.

Durham Rescue Mission purchase

Property records show the church was built in 1940. The Rescue Mission bought it for $1.7 million in December. They own housing across the street, and Tart said they were considering adding a training center on the newly acquired property.

A neighborhood meeting was held just Monday to provide information about the nonprofit’s rezoning request for the 2.4-acre parcel. The rezoning, if approved, would allow for retail and warehouse space, plus additional parking.

“We were undecided about exactly what to do with this church building. We were leaning toward removing it because it was in such poor condition,” Tart said Thursday afternoon.

Ianuzzi said the cause of the fire wasn’t immediately clear. The fire department will be working with the Durham Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation, he said.

Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
The remains of fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street are seen on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
The remains of fire at a building near the intersection of East Main Street and Holman Street are seen on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
Durham firefighters are on the scene of an abandoned church fire at the intersection of East Main and Holman streets Thursday morning. 
Durham firefighters are on the scene of an abandoned church fire at the intersection of East Main and Holman streets Thursday morning.

Advertisement