Ronn Rowland
Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
(MCT)
Mar. 8—A historic landmark east of downtown Muskogee was heavily damaged Monday by fire.
Firefighters were called to the Ark of Faith at 401 E. Broadway. When the initial crew arrived, the western half of the third floor was ablaze.
Jeff Watkins, public information officer for the Muskogee Fire Department, said the call came in at 4:43 p.m.
“We had three engines and two tankers initially respond,” he said. “As of now, we only have two engines available to fight fires in the city. The rest of them are here.”
Watkins said the fire was contained to the third floor.
“The first two men that arrived came up the stairs,” he said. “When they got to the door, one of them said the heat was intense and the flames were huge.”
The building was the original home of the Muskogee Public Library and construction was financed by American industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
It was completed in 1914 at a cost of $60,000 and served as the home of the library until 1972.
In 1982, Ark of Faith took over the building and it has remained there ever since. The organization has a 40th anniversary celebration planned for April 14.
“Right now, I’m saying ‘God, what do we do,'” said Sally Weiesnbach of the Ark of Faith. “They don’t know if we can use the building. We have insurance and they have been called.
“I’m shocked, I’m crying…but God has never failed me.”
It took crews over an hour to get the blaze under control. The crews had problems initially with enough pressure to fight the blaze.
“There’s a 6-inch main that runs under (East Broadway),” Watkins said. “We hooked up to that for the truck and the crane, but that main didn’t have enough pressure for the other hoses.”
While some of the crews were fighting the blaze, others were making their way into the building to see if anyone was inside.
“We heard there were two people living in there,” Watkins said. “So far, we have found no one.”
Watkins also said that it’s still too early to determine the cause of the fire. He said it might take some time before investigators can begin their work.
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