NEW UPDATE: Cause of Fire at St. Alphonsus Undetermined

The Wisconsin State Fire Marshal has ruled the cause of a fire at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Greendale to be undetermined.

Dana Brueck, Communications Director for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, says, "The investigation into the December 26 fire at St. Alphonsus is no longer active."

While a specific cause of the fire is not known, investigators say it was not arson.

The fire, which started in a storage area shortly after midnight, caused extensive smoke damage to the church and school. The church had  finished Christmas Eve services about an hour before the fire broke out.

Services and classes have been cancelled while the building is cleaned and repaired. Mass will be held in the community room for the next ten to twelve weeks and students are expected to return to class on Monday, January 9.

This article updates the change in date of the return to classes by St. Alphonsus students. The earlier article indicated students would be returning on Friday, January 6. Continuing clean-up work inside the school and church necessitated the change.