LORAIN, Ohio — Investigators believe someone set fire to a vacant Lorain church building that was about to become a new resource for the community.
Flames destroyed the former Pentecostal Church of God early Saturday morning.
“To turn around and see this, what happened here, it’s a shame,” said a neighbor named Ed, who declined to give his last name.
The building’s remaining foundation and a pile of charred debris have become a spectacle at the corner of E 32nd Street and Pearl Avenue in South Lorain.
Neighbor Antonio Russo said, “It’s a shame, sad, that’s for sure.”
The lifelong South Side resident attended the church as a child. Since it closed, he and other neighbors have watched it become a vacant building and, more recently, a work in progress.
“It’s unreal because I know they put a lot of sweat and tears into this,” Ed said.
Shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday, fire crews responded to a reported fire at the former church building. When they arrived, flames had consumed the property and were dangerously close to a nearby home.
“The radiant heat was so hot at the front of the church as the truck pulled up that they actually had to move up and past it. It was hot,” said Assistant Chief Shawn Lloyd, the fire marshal for the Lorain Fire Department.
A family in the neighboring home got out safely and firefighters successfully kept the flames from extending beyond the one wall of the house.
The fire quickly consumed the aged timber inside the church building.
“The church on the inside was basically down to bare studs,” Lloyd explained. “There was no insulation, no drywall, basically just a tinderbox.”
Property records indicate the former church was sold in early 2024 to a limited liability company based in Elyria. The fire marshal said the building was uninsured while the developer was actively rehabilitating it into a community center for at-risk youth.
“They were remodeling the whole place. They got as far as the roof as far as I know,” said Russo. “This sure would’ve helped the South side of Lorain, that’s for sure.”
Ed added, “Any improvement, like a community center, that would help the neighborhood is always a plus. Always a plus because they need that. They need a lot here.”
Investigators said the state of the building makes them believe the fire is suspicious.
“It didn’t have electricity, it didn’t have gas turned on to the building. The fire started somehow inside. We don’t know how and we don’t know the intent of why it started,” said Lloyd.
The State Fire Marshal suspects arson, and the Ohio Blue Ribbon Arson Committee is offering a $5,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest in the case.
“If anybody has any information, as small as it might be - you overheard something, you might’ve seen something,” Lloyd said.
Neighbors hope the property still has the potential to help the community.
“I was looking forward to seeing the finished project,” said Ed. “The community could come together and rebuild it if they want to rebuild it.”
If you have relevant information in the case, call Lorain Fire at 440-204-2222 or contact the State Fire Marshal’s office by email at sfm.investigations@com.state.oh.us or by phone at 614-752-7106.
