TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) — An extensive operation to make sure all the embers are out after Family Baptist Church in Tulare caught fire at about 6 o’clock Monday morning.
“When I arrived on scene, the front part of the church already had fire through it and we had a partial roof collapse,” says Battalion Chief Brandon West.
Tulare City Fire is sharing this video of smoke filling the sky as they battled the flames on Prosperity near Laspina.
“We were able to stop the fire progression at the sanctuary. The sanctuary is going to be a complete loss, but the backside of the structure, approximately half of the church, was able to be saved,” Chief West says.
Hours after the blaze, fire crews were seen going through the damaged building.
Much of the church’s roof collapsed, but a set of flags pulled from the blaze serves as a symbol of resilience.
“God has been good. No one was in there. People are safe,” says Samuel Gray, the church’s pastor. “What’s been lost can be replaced,”
The church was home to a growing congregation that had just met in the sanctuary the day before the fire broke out, sharing the service on Facebook.
The blaze is not stopping the church.
“We’ll still continue to love people here. We’re still planning on doing the things we do for the community. None of that will change,” Gray says.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
By ABC30’s Tiffany Olin
