SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz Fire Department is investigating an early morning fire at the former Garfield Park Community Church as arson, a department official said Tuesday.
Thanks to observant neighbors, firefighters were called at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday to the Errett Circle facility at the center of the Garfield Park or “Circles” neighborhood for reports of smoke and flames, Battalion Chief Josh Coleman wrote in a department release. There, they found heavy smoke issuing from the property’s most westerly structure. Firefighters made a forced entry through fencing and doors surrounding the building and used multiple hoses for an aggressive interior attack on the fire, according to Coleman.
Firefighters found multiple fires found in various locations within the building. Coleman credited community members’ early reports of the fire for assisting firefighters in making a quick fire attack “before it evolved into a more complex and dangerous incident.” The fires did an estimated $105,000 in damages, according to Coleman. No members of the public or firefighters were injured in the blaze.
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While investigators are treating the fires as arson, they had not identified a potential arsonist as of Tuesday night. The Santa Cruz Police Department will be assisting in the investigation.
The former church and its outbuildings was sold to a group of investors known as the Circle of Friends in 2017. Spokespersons for the group have shared evolving plans over the years of single-family homes and townhomes designed as a communal development with shared facilities. The former church played host to an immersive art festival in March that transformed the insides of the building into works of art. The demolition of the old facilities was projected for this year.
