CARBONDALE, Ill. (WJPF) – Investigators in Carbondale are looking into who or what started a fire Monday at the former Walnut Street Baptist Church.
The large, brick building at the corner of Route 13 and US 51 had not been used as a house of worship since 2016. The property was city owned, had fallen into disrepair, and was scheduled to be demolished.
Firefighters were called out at about 9:45 a.m. and stayed on the scene for several hours. After the fire was put out, workers then began tearing down the building. Lanes of Route 13 and US 51 remained closed Tuesday as work continued tearing down the building that had stood in Carbondale since the 1920s.
