Lightning May Have Struck Dundalk, MD, Church Steeple
By Racquel Bazos, Dan Belson
Source Baltimore Sun (TNS)
Baltimore County firefighters worked to put out a two-alarm blaze at a Dundalk church Tuesday.
About 75 firefighters responded to the fire in St. Rita Roman Catholic Church’s steeple on the 2900 block of Dunleer Road in Dundalk, according to department spokesperson Bureau Chief Travis Francis.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire, Francis said. However, a thunderstorm had just passed over the area.
The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m. and crews had it under control before 4 p.m., when another thunderstorm began passing through Dundalk. No injuries have been reported to civilians or firefighters.
The church posted on Facebook that it believes the fire was caused by a lightning strike. Several areas of the building were affected, including the reconciliation room, vestibule, downstairs restroom and stairwell to the bell tower, according to the post.
Christan Kendzierski, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was unsure about how the fire would affect the church’s Sunday Mass service.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire. The damage to the church is being assessed now, he said. Kendzierski thanked the fire department for its quick response.
This story will be updated.
Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at [email protected], 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks. Contact Dan Belson at [email protected], on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
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