DE SOTO, Mo. – Firefighters worked a four-alarm fire near a gun store in De Soto Monday night.
The damage done to the building is irreparable therefore it has been considered a total loss. Police said the building is so dangerous due to falling bricks, they have put up barriers up to keep people away from it.
The fire started in the 600 block of South Main Street in De Soto, where there are multiple two-story buildings. Police said some of the buildings in the area have residential housing on the second floor of the buildings.
Witnesses said the fire started at Global Gospel Outreach. Dramatic video from the scene showed a woman hanging out of a video and smoke and flames filled her apartment.
The Global Gospel Outreach church on the bottom of the building was a place for recovering addicts looking to change their life. During the fire Monday night, the church and multiple apartments above it were destroyed.
One person was unaccounted for after the fire, but a man approached our crew and told them he was the unaccounted-for person and he was fine.
The Red Cross was on the scene to help those displaced by the fire. Volunteers with the humanitarian organization spent nearly two hours providing food and drink support for the crews fighting the fires. They were released shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Wendy Lichance was supposed to move into the apartment, she said she’s grateful she didn't but feels heartbroken for those who did.
"I was supposed to live in that apartment. I helped paint it, I helped get furniture," Lichance said.
Lichance and her family were strongly connected to the building. She said although she’s grateful she didn’t move in she’s heartbroken for those who did.
“Thousands of dollars have gone to this church and now it's just all gone. I just hope we can rebuild it or something,” Lichance said.
Those interested donating to Global Gospel Outreach should contact Pastor Larry Dean on Facebook, here.
