LDS Church meetinghouse burns

Fire investigators are combing through the ashes of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse Sunday morning to determine what caused a fire that caused extensive damage to the building.

Keith Garner, the Public Information Officer for the Unified Fire Authority told ABC4 News firefighters were called to the church building at 3680 East Brighton Point Drive just before 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning after a neighbor called reporting smoke and flames coming from the building.

When UFA arrived on scene, Garner said crews could immediately see heavy smoke and flames shooting from the chapel roof and entrance.

Garner says the fire may have started in a foyer, but then quickly ripped through the building’s chapel, hallways, and classrooms.

It took firefighters close to an hour to knock down the flames.

When the flames were out, Garner said crews could see the fire damage was extensive.

There is no word on what caused the fire, but Garner did say UFA found some windows boarded, and investigators don’t know if it was from a previous intruder or not.