Fire at St. Anthony School in Oconto Falls

OCONTO FALLS - Angela Kelly is spending the morning on the scene.  As of 8 a.m., Ash Wednesday mass has been moved from St. Anthony Catholic Church in Oconto Falls to St. Patrick's Church in Stiles, mass starts at 9 a.m.

Officials also say fire investigators are expected at the school today.

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Mark Leland story from Tuesday night:

Fire rips through an Oconto Falls church school Tuesday night, cancelling classes for St. Anthony Parish School Wednesday. A passerby is credited with helping to fight the fire.

Just a flicker of light from fire inside St. Anthony Parish School caught the eye of 16-year-old Vince Enneper walking home from the library in Oconto Falls Tuesday night.

"I saw some flickering lights in the doorway so I came to check it out and there were flames on the wall," said Eppener, who also found flames in a bathroom and classroom.

Enneper tells FOX 11 he pried open a glass door on the school building and grabbed a fire extinguisher. But as he worked to put out the flames, the fire grew too intense.

"I think it was pretty horrible," Eppener said afterward.

Fire crews from several area departments responded to the call. Fire Chief Tim Magnin says the blaze spread quickly and for a time shot out of skylights in the roof.

"There's a lot of damage. Ceiling tiles started on fire and there's a lot of heat load there all the way down the hallway, so that was all burning prior to use getting here," said Magnin.

Damage to the classrooms we're told is extensive. School officials are just thankful no one was hurt.

"We thank god it didn't happen during school and we are a family and all of our family is safe," said school principal Rosemary Marifke.

There is no school for at least a day for the 47 students while parish officials assess what can be salvaged. But thanks to an immediate outpouring of community support school will be able to go on.

"Yes the superintendent of public schools came by to say they have a couple of rooms we could use. And the pastor at the lutheran church said we could use their building too," said Marifke.

Police and fire investigators continue to look for a cause, assisted by Enneper's eyewitness account.  Enneper's quick response is being credited with keeping the blaze from being worse, perhaps spreading to the church.

"If he hadn't seen it, oh it probably wouldn't have been noticeable until the flames came through the roof," said Magnin.

The school  and church are separated by a hallway and a metal door. That metal door kept most of the smoke out of the sanctuary. But that doesn't mean they'll be able to have Ash Wednesday services here. The power to the building has been cut off.

St. Anthony School was built in 1957. It provides Catholic education for 4K through fifth grade.