(Radio Iowa) – An apartment building in Lake Park that used to be a Methodist Church has been destroyed by fire. Lake Park Fire Chief Brandon Ehret says the old wooden structure in the town of about 1200 was engulfed by fire when his crew arrived on scene around midnight.

“Had fire showing off the north side of the building…It was coming out of the roof. Got our big hoses on it, got a lot of water flowing right away. We weren’t able to make entry on it,” he says. “Spirit Lake came over with its ladder truck and tankers and we had Milford came up with their an engine and tankers and worked the water shuttle off (Silver Lake), hauling water to it, got a lot of hot spots put out and kept an eye on it until about 6:30 this morning.”

Firefighters packed up and returned to the fire station in Lake Park, but were back again about an hour later to deal with a flare up. Ehret says the last apartment resident moved out a few days ago. “The owner was actually in the place yesterday doing some work. She had a lot of art stuff and antiques in there,” Ehret says. “…She couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary when she was here.”

The Methodist Church was the first church built in Lake Park. Ehret has ordered that the building be torn down because it’s a safety hazard.