Firefighters battled a massive fire at a church in Philadelphia’s Brewerytown neighborhood that broke out around 7:30 p.m.
The fire started Monday night at the United Missionary Baptist Church on 25th and Thompson streets. Footage from SkyForce10 showed flames and smoke rising from the top of the church.
Firefighters were able to get the flames under control around 9:30 p.m.
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Deputy Fire Chief Charles Johnson said no one was inside the church at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
A church spokesperson also posted on their Facebook page that their pastor and officials were safe.
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Deputy Chief Johnson said the fire was contained to the church and didn't spread to any nearby properties. The church is located less than a mile away from Girard College.
In addition to firefighters, PECO, Philadelphia Gas Works and Philadelphia Water Department employees all responded to the fire.
The power was shut off Monday night to the church and surrounding neighbors who live in a three block radius.
Officials explained that the mixture of the freezing water and the powerlines posed a hazard to firefighters.
"It was so cold in the house, man. I woke up this morning it said 29 degrees and I had kids in the house. It was so cold, my animals were cold, shivering. The animals came and laid next to me that's how cold it was," neighbor Diore Conway said.
Finally on Tuesday, PECO crews worked to restore power to the area and neighbors cleared ice from the properties.
"We're going to shut down the power because the weight of the water and the freezing conditions is starting to weigh the power lines," he said. "As a precautionary measure we're going to shut the power and it could be up to a three block radius."
An assistant pastor told firefighters the church was built in 1892 and passed on throughout the family.
"As we were taking it in, we realized that the legacy is not the building, it's actually us, it's the congregation. It's the things that we do with this community so we are looking forward to rebuilding and continuing the work of the ministry," United Missionary Baptist Church Minister Christa Williams said.
Church leaders are calling for prayers for the community and pledge that they will rebuild.
The Philadelphia Fire Marshal is investigating the cause.
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