Two Dozen Fire Companies Battle Pottstown, PA, Church Fire

Over 200 firefighters responded as the historic Transfiguration Lutheran Church burned in Pottsville Friday morning.

Nov. 22, 2025

4 min read

Evan Brandt
The Mercury, Pottstown, Pa.
(TNS)

Nov. 21— POTTSTOWN — An early-morning fire gutted a historic vacant church at the corner of Chestnut and North Hanover streets on Friday.

Completed in 1861 and formerly known as Transfiguration Lutheran Church, it was later occupied by Invictus Ministries Inc.

There were no injuries, but a collapsing wall struck the house next door, causing structural damage.

Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand said the initial call came in at 6:22 a.m. Firefighters arrived three minutes later and found "heavy fire conditions" inside the building. "So they backed out, and as soon as they did, the fire burst through the roof," Hand said.

That initiated a second call. "In the next 20 minutes, the call went to five alarms. We had 250 firefighters on the scene."

"When they first arrived, they were able to gain access through a side door. They found a lot of smoke, a lot of heat. Then they went up a few steps, but with that air getting in there, the fire was just too big, and they pulled out, and that was at about the six-minute mark."

The size and design of the structure made it difficult to attack the fire from the interior.

"Churches are big open spaces; there was a lot of air, a lot of wood, and the fire got up to the roof area. We were able to get four ladder trucks up there, and their goal at that point was to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to any of the other homes in the area. In this part of town, there are narrow streets and the homes are right on top of each other, so that was our main goal, to keep the other structures from burning," Hand said.

"We got the hoses hooked up right away, we followed our training, did our jobs. It was a textbook fire," Hand said

"We had to displace about 35 people. They probably will be able to go back into their homes once we make sure the scene is secure. You never know when a building is this compromised," said Hand.

A nearly one-block area around the front of the church was taped off, and fire officials were keeping a close eye on the massive tower and steeple at the front of the church. One police officer called it "the collapse zone."

He said it is too early for an investigation into the possible cause of the fire.

About 25 fire companies, "some from Chester, some from Berks, some from Montgomery," were on the scene, Hand said. "We have fire police from all over the region. Right now, this is a Pottstown Police incident, so Pottstown Police and detectives are on scene."

"Right now, we're just trying to keep the fire suppressed," Hand said. "Once that's done, we can start looking into power, gas, and who might have been in there. Who might have been around."

The fire chief said he had "no information" about the possibility that squatters had occupied the church.

"There was a problem with that in the past, but I have no information right now about whether there was anybody in there," Hand said.

Sheila Dugan is more sure. The house next to the church that was damaged when a wall collapsed onto it belongs to the Dugan family.

Dugan, who runs Grumpy's Handcarved Sandwiches on High Street with her husband Gene, said her daughter, Virginia Lee, woke her up when she realized the church next door was on fire.

"We warned the town about this. We warned them about the drugs, with the sober houses and everything else," said Dugan, who frequently speaks at council meetings about the number of "sober houses," where addicts go to try and get clean, in her neighborhood.

"And now I don't have a house," she said.

"It was smoking when we got out of the house, and then the fire burst through the roof. And it was squatters; they got people out of there, but no one wants to believe me. I'm a crazy person who knows the (expletive) that's been going on there," Dugan said.

"And sadly," Dugan added," the landlord has done the right thing. He has boarded it up, and boarded it up and boarded it up. Look around you. Who's here? Homeless and sober houses. I have two neighbors who own their own houses here."