Lightning may have set church afire

MADISON, Wis. – Firefighters extinguished a fire in the wooden belfry of the historic Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on the downtown isthmus in Madison. Two people inside directed fire crews how get up the steeple from inside. Access was difficult because of the1869 construction. Firefighters were faced with narrow passages and locked doors. From outside, another crew climbed 140 feet up truck-mounted extension ladders and sprayed the fire from outside. No one was hurt. It took an hour to put the fire out. The cause? Perhaps lightning, said Father Drew Olson. Masses have been cancelled for at least a few days.