Church burns to the ground as more than 100 firefighters try to save it
Senior Pastor Russell Hodgins called the fire a 'devastating loss' for his church.
A church in New Jersey burned to the ground in a devastating blaze despite a response from over 150 firefighters.
Smoke billowed into the air as the sun set on Monday evening in Florence Township, New Jersey, when a massive blaze was sparked at the Fountain of Life Center church and Christian school.
The fire was reported around 6.00pm on Monday evening, and was quickly declared a four-alarm fire by first responders. It was upgraded to the fifth alarm around 7.30pm, when local firefighters put out a call for reinforcements from neighboring counties.
‘It was just the size of the building the amount of fire that was here – we had to switch our operation to a defensive operation,’ Florence Township Fire District Administrator Robert Tharp said.
The church, located about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, has a congregation of about 1,000 members. It is the center of a campus also houses a K-12 primary school called the Life Center Academy.
Firefighters were able to save the school, but classes were cancelled for the foreseeable future as firefighters continue to put out hot spots and assess the damage.
The Florence Fire Department reported they were still on the site as late as Tuesday afternoon.
No injuries were reported in the fire. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire.
Images from the aftermath show the completely burned-out remains of the megachurch within the 120,000-square-foot complex.
Senior Pastor Russell Hodgins called the fire a ‘devastating loss’ for his church.
The sanctuary’s just been completely burned,’ Hodgins told CBS Philadelphia. ‘The roof collapsing is a pretty embedded image in my mind.’
Despite the immediate damage, church leaders announced that services would still be held on the property next Sunday.
‘The church is not brick and mortar, the church is really the body of believers,’ Hodgins told the local station.
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