Devastating Fire Destroys Historic Texas Sanctuary

A four-alarm fire on Friday has destroyed the historic chapel at First Baptist Church in Dallas. The chapel served as the main sanctuary for the church until 2013 when a new sanctuary was built. The historic secondary chapel held services for nearly a century.

Firefighters were called to the scene a little after 6pm on Friday according to the Dallas Morning News. Heavy smoke confronted firefighters and the fire spread quickly throughout the historic chapel. It took over three hours for firefighters to contain the fire.

Arson investigators are currently investigating the cause of the fire. The historic chapel partially collapsed an hour and half into the blaze. After the collapse more firefighters responded to the scene according to the Dallas Morning News.

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FOX 4 in Dallas reported this week that the entire chapel may have to be demolished after the fire. Officials as of Monday had not determined what started the fire but did say the fire began in the basement. According to FOX in Dallas, First Baptist Church will get a structural report on the chapel and if it is found to be unstable, it will have to be demolished.

According to Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress and FOX4 in Dallas, they are working with the City of Dallas to see if any of the chapel can be preserved.

"The truth is the church is not made up of wood, brick or mortar, it’s made up of the people who are in that worship center and that’s what really matters," said Jeffress.

Jeffress says he's working with the city to see if any of the building's structure can be preserved.

No one was reportedly injured in the fire on Friday.