Madison firefighters respond to fire at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A downtown Madison church steeple suffered significant water damage Friday after a fire, the city’s fire department reported.

MFD Public Information Officer Cynthia Schuster confirmed the department received a call just after 11:15 am for fire at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church steeple, in the 100 block of W. Johnson Street. Firefighters arrived in four minutes, and saw flames coming from the steeple.

Schuster said three ladder trucks were raised to attack the fire at different angles from outside. Crews also headed inside of the church.

Two people were inside of the church when firefighters entered, and MFD directed those individuals to leave.

Schuster noted firefighting efforts were complicated because the steeple has intricate construction. Firefighters were faced with narrow passageways, locked doors and multiple stories of ladders in order to reach the flames woven in the wood construction.

Crews had to tear away parts of the building as they searched for hot spots and had the fire extinguished in about an hour, around 12:30 p.m.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Schuster noted multiple 911 callers reported seeing a lightning strike before the fire started. MFD’s Fire Investigation Team is working to determine the cause of the fire, including if it was caused by lightning. Investigators will look into video evidence and potentially weather-related sources, such as a log of lightning strike times and locations in the area.

Drew Olson, the priest at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, said he was at Saint James Catholic School when he learned his church was on fire.

“I looked at my phone and saw some missed calls and came directly over to see what needed to be done, where I could help,” Olson said.

Olson said he’s glad no one was hurt.

“We have to see the Lord’s hand in this,” Olson said. “We don’t know what he’s going to try to bring out of this difficulty, but I’m more grateful that the oldest church, the oldest Catholic church in Madison is still here.”

The church will be closed until further notice. Olson said he believes it will reopen soon.

“My hope would be it’s not too long,” Olson said. “The tower will be probably isolated and we could make use of the church again.”

Anyone with video or photos of the potential lightning strike were asked to email the fire department at fire@cityofmadison.com.

A portion of W. Johnson Street was closed at State Street as crews battled the fire and remained closed until around 1:40 p.m. Friday.

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