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St. Louis Church Fire - Fond du Lac, WI

Shortly before 9:30 on the evening of March 19th, 2007, the historic St. Louis church in downtown Fond du Lac, Wisconsin caught fire.

Hundreds of Fond du Lac residents stood awestruck, watching as the fire gradually consumed the church. Shortly before midnight, the southern steeple, which had been burning for almost an hour, fell over on the south yard of the church lot. Thick smoke had been seen pouring out of the northern steeple earlier on in the evening, but it somehow remained standing at the end. The rest of the church was gutted and was considered a total loss.

Firefighters kept the fire contained to the church and the immediate surrounding area. No injuries were reported, although the following morning, a pigeon was found nearby that had suffered burns; it was taken to the local humane society and survived. A new Walgreen's building and small strip-mall (neither of which were yet occupied) sat adjacent to the church on the same block. Firefighters had to constantly spray both buildings as cinders and burning debris landed on and around the area.

A long plume of smoke stretched all the way across town, as the northerly wind made the battle with the fire all that more difficult. We were less than 300 feet away from the scene, and could hear the firefighters yelling back and forth about their next moves. Fond du Lac is a small city, but our firefighters are some of the best around. They did everything they could to keep the fire contained, while making sure to keep bystanders out of harm's way.

Final deconstruction of the church began on April 9th, and was completed on April 19th, exactly one month after the fire. By July 2007, the cause of the fire had not been determined. According to city officials, what actually caused the blaze will likely never be known. The church had recently been purchased and was in the process of being converted into a sporting-goods store by local business-owner Dave Haase.

Once visible from all directions (even from highway 41 and on top of the east ledge on highway 23) the two steeples defined the Fond du Lac skyline for more than 100 years.

My wife and I were saddened to see such an important landmark destroyed. A small town like Fond du Lac prides itself on such distinctive architecture, and I think this loss will be felt by many for a long time to come.

Videos and images of the fire and the aftermath are shown below.