An Ocala church hall has been declared unsafe and condemned by a building inspector after an accidental electrical fire ripped through the structure over the weekend.
Ocala Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to a reported structure fire at St. Paul A.M.E. Church, located at 718 NW 7th Street, at approximately 10:24 p.m. on Saturday, May 16.
Upon arriving at the scene, emergency personnel encountered a two-story building with thick smoke billowing heavily from the rear. Firefighters conducted a perimeter evaluation before entering the church to locate the source of the blaze and perform a primary search.
Crews initially met severe conditions on the second floor, where a thermal imaging camera recorded temperatures exceeding 375 degrees Fahrenheit at the top of the stairwell amid zero-visibility conditions.
While auxiliary teams navigated blocked entryways at the back of the building and utilized ladder trucks to manage the roof, interior crews pushed through the extreme heat to locate the true seat of the fire.
Firefighters discovered the flames were originating from the first-floor assembly hall and successfully repositioned their hose lines to contain and extinguish the blaze.
Once the fire was suppressed, emergency personnel ventilated the building and evaluated its interior layout.
Investigators noted the structure featured an enclosed assembly hall with 30-foot ceilings that opened directly onto second-floor balconies, an architectural configuration that heavily influenced the severe smoke patterns and flow throughout the building.
A subsequent investigation conducted by fire officials determined that the fire was accidental and electrical in nature.
Due to the extensive fire, structural, and smoke damage throughout the property, a city building inspector officially condemned the structure.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
The mitigation response required a multi-agency turnout, including the Ocala Fire Rescue Prevention Division, the Ocala Police Department, Ocala Electric Utility, the Ocala Building Department, and Marion County Fire Rescue.