UPDATE: The Daytona Beach Police Department has closed Peninsula Dr. from Ora Street south to Auditorium Boulevard. Earl Street is also closed from North Halifax Avenue east to North Hollywood Avenue.
UPDATE: DBFD Public Information Officer Sasha Staton says the area remains closed to traffic. The structural condition of the church is dangerous, so pedestrians are advised not to go near the church.
Staton says the church's roof has completely collapsed and the wall facing Peninsula Dr. is leaning outward. She says there's no immediately apparent cause for the fire because the electricity has been off. The State Marshal will be conducting a preliminary investigation due to the suspicious nature of this fire.
Daytona Beach, FL - Multiple fire crews were kept busy late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning after a fire chewed through a church in beachside Daytona Beach.
Sasha Staton, the Public Information Officer for the Daytona Beach Fire Department (DBFD), says crews from Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, and Holly Hill were called to the corner of Peninsula Drive and Earl Street for a fire at the Calvary Baptist Church just before midnight.
When firefighters made their way into the church they were met with heavy flames and had to switch to a defensive attack mode and exit the building because of the dangerous conditions. Crews continued to battle the blaze from the exterior working all sides and utilizing 2 aerial apparatuses to gain an overhead access to the flames.
Firefighters spoke to a contractor who arrived on scene and learned that the church is slated for demolition and the power to the building had already been disconnected for some time.
Officials are still unsure about the cause of the fire. We will pass along updates as they are made available.
News Daytona Beach's Diane Coston contributed the updates to this report.
