Historic Church in Dallas Burns

A fire all but destroyed the historic church sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas, sending smoke billowing over the city but causing no deaths or injuries, Dallas firefighters said. The fire in the Texas Historic Landmark, a Victorian-style red brick church built in 1890, was reported about 6:30pm Friday and contained about three hours later, the AP reports. “We think it may have started in the basement and then gone on to the second floor, but until we clear it out and do an investigation we won’t know” the cause, interim Fire Chief Justin Ball told KDFW-TV.

“The structure has largely collapsed,” said a city statement to ABC News. Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress expressed relief that no one was injured in the fire. “We just had 2,000 children and volunteers on campus for Vacation Bible School earlier in the day,” he said, per the AP. The evangelical megachurch, with 16,000 members, now holds its main services in a modern worship center next door to the historic sanctuary.

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