**EARLY ARRIVAL 6th-ALARM** MAJOR Fire Destroys Faith Lutheran Church on Easter Cambridge,MA Box 285

©FDNY Response Videos 2023

Location: 311 Broadway, Cambridge, MA. (Faith Lutheran Church)

Fire Throughout a Church

2nd Alarm on arrival for heavy smoke.


For those wondering how this fire spread so quickly:

If you look closely at the start of the video, they had 3 lines run (appear to be 2 1/2). One thru the side door of the rectory and 2 thru the front door of the church. The fire was in the basement and was well involved upon arrival. A building like this - heavy timber construction - built in the 1800s - is very difficult to put out once the fire gains a foothold. (Think of there Notre Dame fire in Paris for reference.) You can see it running up the wall in the (2-3 or B-C) corner of the steeple, however this is an incredibly hard area to reach. They tried their best - I think 4-5 lines interior when they switched to exterior ops. The building construction just worked against them.

   • Cambridge, MA 6th Alarm Church Fire D...  

That ^ audio ^ has both the dispatch and fireground reports. It shows that they went interior with “big lines” right away but encountered a heavy body of fire inside.