Firefighters saved a historic New York City church, notable for its appearance in “The Godfather,” as a four-alarm fire tore through a nearby vacant warehouse.
More than 200 firefighters and EMS personnel rushed to Mount Loretto in Staten Island after the blaze began to spread inside an empty warehouse at around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, FDNY Chief of Operations Kevin Woods said at a press conference that evening.
“There is heavy, heavy damage to this structure, the roof did collapse, and right now we’re maintaining a collapse zone around that structure,” Woods said.
“Upon arrival, units encountered heavy fire throughout the building and immediately went into a defensive operation,” Woods said. “We set up multiple large-caliber stream tower ladders and handlines.”
The warehouse at 6581 Hylan Boulevard has been vacant for five years, but it is located near several other structures on the Mount Loretto grounds, including two schools and the historic Old Church of St. Joachim and St. Anne, which was famously featured in exterior shots of the baptism scene of the 1972 film “The Godfather.”
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The ornate Catholic Church was largely destroyed by a fire in 1973, though its façade survived, and it was rebuilt three years later.
Firefighters managed to control the blaze on Saturday and stop it from spreading to the other buildings. The fire was under control at around 8:30 p.m.
“It’s very windy out here tonight. Our units did a great job with many of the flying embers, preventing additional structures from going on fire,” Woods said.
Woods said one firefighter suffered a minor burn injury to his leg.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s office.