MODESTO, Calif. — A smoke explosion caused the roof to blow off the former Franklin and Downs Colonial Chapel in Modesto Tuesday morning.
Modesto Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the former two-story chapel at the corner of 12th and G Streets, just before 7 a.m.
According to the fire department, crews arrived to find fire coming from the front and sides of the chapel and started efforts to save the building. However, moments after they went inside, the explosion happened, causing a large part of the roof to collapse and fall to the ground, narrowly missing firefighters.
Firefighters evacuated the chapel and switched to a defensive attack on the building, using exterior hoses and their ladder trucks.
The blaze drew in 50 firefighters who were able to get the fire under control after 90 minutes.
The chapel was built in 1895, but it's been unoccupied since 2016.
David Seymour, executive director for the McHenry Museum & Historical Society, said the chapel was sold to the Stanislaus County Office of Education, who were trying to decide what to do with the building. The historical society has been trying to salvage and preserve artifacts in conjunction with the Modesto preservation commission.
The fire remains under investigation.
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