Roof Contractor, Neighboring Church Gutted by Fire in Fla.

Investigation underway to determine cause of fire at A Plus Roofing and church in Cape Coral

A picture of A Plus Roofing in Cape Coral, Fla. engulfed in flames after a fire ripped through the warehouse and a nearby church. — A fire broke out earlier this week and caused extensive damage to A Plus Roofing and a nearby church in Cape Coral, Fla. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, and no injuries were reported. At its peak, 40-50 engines were called to battle the blaze.
— Image courtesy of Fox 4 News, Fort Myers, Fla.

According to news reports from the Gulf Coast community of Cape Coral, Fla., about 10 miles southwest of Fort Myers, massive smoke plumes could be seen for miles on Monday afternoon when two buildings, A Plus Roofing and Calvary Connection Ministries, caught fire along SW 2nd Avenue and SW 3rd Street.

As first reported by NBC TV affiliate WBBH, Cape Coral Fire Department Incident Commander Anthony Demos said 40 to 50 firefighters were called to put out the flames.

"This is one of the more extensive fires I've seen in my career. I've been there over 20 years," Demos said.

Demos added that the material stocked at A Plus Roofing — shingles and tar — added considerable fuel, given that petroleum-based products are highly flammable.

"Once the flames got to the roofing supplies company, the whole thing went up like a match," bystander Matt Sauerland told NBC2.

Sauerland said he called 911 when he first saw the buildings engulfed in flames. Fifteen minutes later, he could still see the smoke.

"We were over the Midpoint Bridge. I had passengers in my car, and I could still see the smoke coming up. It was a pretty big flame," Sauerland said.

A1 Roofing’s adjacent neighbor, Calvary Connection Ministries, was also devastated. Sisters Angel and Tiffany Brueckner said the church has been a part of the community for years and often donated food there.

"I hope God fixes their building and everyone's okay. God was there to help and make sure no one was in there. And then it rained. It poured yesterday when they were spraying, so we were happy about that," the sisters said.

The State Fire Marshall and Lee County Arson Investigation team were called in; the investigation is ongoing and no injuries were reported.

KEYWORDS: fire resistance Florida

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Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage.

Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business.