At the historic St. Paul church where fire struck Thursday, the owner said Friday he’s trying to get the steeple secured so the sidewalk and roads around it can be reopened.

William Hanson said he’s been keeping the church in Frogtown open round-the-clock for the last 10 years, allowing people to come in to pray or be prayed for.

The city won’t permit him to reopen the church at Farrington Street and Sherburne Avenue until the steeple is steadied and an inspector ensures the property is safe.

The church was built in 1902 by Trinity Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, according to the website of Historic St. Paul, a nonprofit preservation organization. Before Hanson, the building was home to Rock Temple Church of God in Christ, property information from the city shows.

Hanson said the church is owned “first by God, then me.”

“People come in all hours of the day and night,” Hanson said. “We’ve tried scheduled events, but it seems like they excluded more than they included.”

The church is also zoned for residential use and Hanson was in the basement, where he lives, on Thursday when he heard a loud pop.

“It sounded like the light bulb above me blew up,” he recounted. He went to the circuit box and saw one circuit was out, so he turned it back on. He looked around outside and didn’t see anything.

“I’m bald, but we continued to smell what smelled like hair burning,” he said. He went back outside 20 to 30 minutes later and saw the steeple was on fire.

Firefighters responded about 5:30 p.m. and extinguished the blaze. It was storming and preliminary information points to a lightning strike causing the fire, the fire department said Thursday.

St. Paul’s Department of Safety and Inspections came to assess the steeple and, due to its unstable condition, sidewalks and the street are blocked — Sherburne Avenue between Virginia and Farrington streets, and Farrington Street between Sherburne and Charles avenues. The closures will remain in place until the steeple is secured.

The church’s steeple was previously damaged by wind and hail, and Hanson said he made an insurance claim three years ago. He said the insurance company dropped its coverage of the property. After making calls to the insurance company throughout the last three years, he received word on Thursday that the company would provide enough payment to fix the steeple to be safe.

“Two hours later, lightning hit,” Hanson said. “… I’m in belief that God did this, so that the story goes out and other people come to help besides insurance companies.”

Hanson previously received some insurance money for the steeple, but he said he was awaiting the rest he was owed because it wasn’t enough to fix it.

He saved the money and said he’ll use it to pay a contractor to secure the steeple, hopefully on Monday. When he gets the OK from the city, Hanson said he’ll also be able to move back into his living space and reopen the church to “start ministering again.”

Some people call Hanson “Reverend,” but he said, “I’m just a servant. … I just try to be available.” He said he gets no income from his ministering.

If the rest of the insurance money arrives, Hanson said he’ll use it to keep fixing the steeple.