SPRINGDALE — Fire officials haven’t determined what caused a blaze late Sunday at a vacant building on South Thompson Street that once served as a church.
The fire was reported shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday. All of Springdale’s available firefighters were on the scene, as was a Fayetteville ladder truck. Firefighters had the blaze under control about five hours later, said Springdale Fire Chief Mike Irwin.
Photo Gallery
Springdale church fire
A vacant church building in Springdale burned Sunday night in Springdale. All Springdale fire engines, trucks and ambulances responded to the fire except for one engine and one ambulance. A ladder truck from Fayetteville responded to the fire as well.
The fire continued to smolder Monday afternoon, however. A steady stream of smoke billowed from the site and flames still were visible at times.
Most of the exterior walls remained intact Monday, but Irwin described the building as “a total loss, for the most part.”
No firefighters were injured while fighting the fire. Irwin said he doesn’t believe anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire, but added he wouldn’t know for certain until a complete search of the building can be done. The instability of the remaining structure was preventing firefighters from going in Monday, he said.
Firefighters entered the building upon arrival, but evacuated after a partial roof collapse, Irwin said.
The building, at the corner of Thompson Street and Grove Avenue, was constructed in 1960 for the Church of Christ, according to Thomas Evers, city building inspector. In later years it was occupied by Ozark Guidance.
“Then it became a day care, and it’s changed hands several times since then,” Evers said.
He said he couldn’t remember the building having any tenant in the last 10 years.
The building was sold in October to Hector Orellana and Marta Mancia for $99,000, according to Washington County property records. The appraised value of the building and land was $251,050 in 2010, the last time it was appraised.
Property records listed the owners’ mailing address as a Springdale post office box. They could not be reached for comment Monday, but Irwin said he’d heard the new owners planned to open a clothing store there. The Springdale city clerk’s office had no record of an application for a business license at the address, 219 S. Thompson St.
Irwin declined to speculate on whether arson was involved, but said the fire is “definitely suspicious.”
“When you’re dealing with a fire in a vacant building, it raises the question about how it started,” Irwin said. “We don’t have any answers yet.”
David Henry, 20, of Springdale said when the fire broke out Sunday night, he was at the McDonald’s restaurant about two blocks south of the site. He and several friends went to check it out.
Standing about 200 feet away, Henry said he could feel the heat from the fire.
“The flames were shooting probably 40 to 50 feet in the air,” Henry said.
The fire likely will continue to smolder for two or three more days, Irwin said.
Steve Caraway contributed to this report.