Flames wreck historic Hazleton church
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Lightning strikes as firefighters battle a blaze at the former St. Paul's UMC in Hazleton on July 27, 2025.
HAZLETON – The former St. Paul’s United Methodist Church here is in ruins this morning after a multi-alarm blaze.
Firefighters from Hazleton and surrounding areas were called to the church at West Green Street and Lee Court, next to the Hazleton Public Library, around 10pm Saturday night.
At least three alarms were struck, bringing crews from across southern Luzerne as well as northern Schuylkill and Carbon counties to the scene. Additional crews from neighboring counties covered the city.
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – A master stream from an aerial truck blasts the roof of the former St. Paul’s Church in Hazleton on July 27, 2025. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Firefighters rest on the tailboard of a Hazleton fire engine. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – A Hazle Township pickup truck parks on the sidewalk outside the nearby Hazleton City Hall. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Aerial devices from multiple fire departments hit the former St. Paul’s Church. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Two firefighters work in the bucket of a Hazleton aerial truck.
The church had been vacant since 2004 and work to revitalize the Romanesque-style church, led by the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, had just been announced earlier this summer.
It had been built in the late 1800’s, opening in May 1899.
No injuries were immediately reported early Sunday morning.
Assisting Hazleton firefighters were crews from Hazle Township, McAdoo, Freeland, Foster Township (Luzerne County), Weatherly, West Hazleton, among others.
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