Large Fire Destroys Entire Carthage City Block

A large fire has destroyed an entire block in the city of Carthage on Saturday.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal is reporting that the blaze started in a commercial building near the old Henson Metal Buildings property, and was completely engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene at about 8 PM.

The fire hopped from a nearby tree with a pile of cardboard boxes to the Hispanic Christian Church next-door, and was unfortunately completely overtaken by the flames.

The Carthage Fire Department was joined by several other area departments to battle the blaze, and they were successful in preventing the flames from reaching a gas station on the block.

State fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.