Overnight Fire Destroys Former NE Iowa Church

Authorities are trying to find the cause of an overnight fire that destroyed an empty church in Buchanan County.

Firecrews were called out at about 7pm Thursday to the old St. Peter Lutheran Church in Lamont. The building has not been in use for a couple of years.

Firefighters from Lamont, Aurora, Strawberry Point and Dundee battled the blaze, but could not save the structure. Crews concentrated on protecting other nearby property.

They also used construction equipment to knock down the rest of the building and let it burn out.

No one was injured.

The church had been closed since 2010, and then was used as a home for a couple of years. It had been left vacant the past 2 years.

The origin of the fire has not yet been determined.