Englewood church catches fire a third time in a week

It is not uncommon for large fires — such as the one that destroyed Antioch Missionary Baptist Church last week — to flare up again, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

SHARE Englewood church catches fire a third time in a week
A fire rekindled Monday afternoon at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, at 63rd and Stewart.

A fire rekindled Monday afternoon at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, at 63rd and Stewart.

Anthony Vazquez/ Sun-Times

An Englewood church that burned down on Good Friday caught fire a third time Monday afternoon.

“It is not unusual that fires this big rekindle,” Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, which was destroyed last week.

The fire re-ignited around 12:15 p.m. Monday at 63rd Street and Stewart Avenue, Merritt said.

No one was inside the church, which was already “pretty much destroyed,” Merritt said.

The church first caught fire Friday afternoon when a construction worker used a torch on the building’s roof. The cause of the fire was deemed accidental on Saturday, when the church briefly reignited a first time.

The congregation, which had used the building since 1958, held Easter Sunday services at a nearby funeral home.

A fire rekindled Monday afternoon at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, at 63rd and Stewart.

A fire rekindled Monday afternoon at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, at 63rd and Stewart.

Anthony Vazquez/ Sun-Times

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