Fire tears through historic West Philadelphia church
Updated 3 mins ago
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A large fire ripped through a West Philadelphia church on Monday morning, heavily damaging a building that has stood for more than a century.
The fire was reported just before 9 a.m. Monday at the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church on the 6400 block of Lansdowne Avenue.
The blaze eventually went to four alarms, and it took hours for firefighters to get it under control.
Two people were inside when the fire started, with one person on the second floor and the other on the third floor.
Both were evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported.
"I was upstairs on the third floor, in the shower, and I came out and there was a lot of smoke," the man who was on the third floor said. "I just crawled down the hallway, came out the window, and they took me down the third floor.
Raw video from Chopper 6:
Chopper 6 was over the church fire in West Philadelphia.
Firefighters say the flames were so intense they had to switch their focus from saving the church to protecting the buildings and homes around it.
There was no immediate word as to how the fire started, but officials said they do believe it began in the basement.
The lead pastor says five other congregations rent the church, making six in total that use the building. However, he tells Action News they will find a place to worship this Sunday.
He also vows they will rebuild.