Firefighters spend hours on scene

Freedom Ministries was completely engulfed in flames when Gantt Area Fire Department showed up to the scene at midnight, on Wednesday.

“When we showed up at the scene, the building was completely engulfed in flames,” Chief Scott Fight said. “The roof had completely caved in as well.”

Fight said that the fire started around 11:20 Tuesday night and that the Heath Volunteer Fire Department responded first to the fire and called the Gantt Fire Department for back up.

“They said that they needed help so we went in around midnight,” Fight said. “It flared up again between 2:45 a.m., and 5 a.m., so the Heath Fire Department went back to douse it completely out. They completely finished putting out the fire around 5 a.m.”

A state fire marshal was on the scene Wednesday afternoon and confirmed the cause of the fire is under investigation. However, he would not speculate about the cause.

The building was beside the Budget Inn on U.S. 29 on the way to Gantt and was formerly a restaurant.