The investigation continues into a four-alarm fire which destroyed a shuttered schoolhouse on the grounds of a former Buffalo Catholic parish set for redevelopment.
Fire officials say crews were called to 468 Emslie, off Broadway shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters arriving found the first two levels of the building to be engulfed in flames. A second alarm was soon called. Ultimately four alarms were sounded to bring more than 120 personnel to the scene.
By Friday morning, passersby could see the schoolhouse gutted, as fire crews continued to spray water on hotspots.
The city has requested an emergency demolition but Mayor Sean Ryan, during a Friday noon-hour news conference, said officials wanted to speak with the owners to determine their intentions, including whether they wished to save it.
The church building itself was not damaged by the fire. No adjacent homes suffered exposure damage either, according to city officials.
St. Ann’s Parish, which opened in 1886, was merged with Ss. Columba-Brigid by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in 2007 and then closed the St. Ann’s church building to all activities in 2013. In 2022, the former parish properties were sold to Buffalo Crescent Holdings, which reportedly planned to convert the grounds into a Muslim worship and gathering place.
Preservation Buffalo Niagara observers were on the scene and did not comment on the record, but according to its Facebook page the organization has placed calls to the owner, to the state’s Historic Preservation Office and to the City of Buffalo, asking whether the structure could be stabilized, and if possible, how such work could be funded.