A fire broke out at a historic church in Dallas, Texas, on Friday evening, resulting in the roof collapsing.
Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas, confirmed that the roof of the church’s historic chapel had collapsed from a fire last night, according to the New York Times.
Jeffress also confirmed that nobody had been hurt by the fire. The fire reportedly started “after the church had held a summer” vacation Bible school (VBS) event, which included around 2,000 children, according to the outlet.
“We will have to see about whether we try to recreate it or do something else,” Jeffress told the outlet.
The Dallas Morning News noted that initially “40 Dallas Fire and Rescue Units responded” to the fire around 6:40 p.m., but by 8:00 p.m., there were roughly “60 units” that had arrived to respond to the fire.
Around 6:05 p.m., the fire at the church, which began in the secondary chapel, was called in, Dallas Fire Chief Robert Borse said in a statement, according to the outlet.
In a statement on X around 8:54 p.m., Jeffress asked people to pray for his church and revealed there had been a “fire in the Historic Sanctuary.”
In a statement around 9:46 p.m., Borse reportedly confirmed that the fire was “knocked down and contained,” and added that the structure had “largely collapsed,” according to the Daily Signal.
“PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR CHURCH,” Jeffress wrote. “We have experienced a fire in the Historic Sanctuary. To our knowledge, no one is hurt or injured, and we thank God for His protection. He is sovereign even in the most difficult times.”
In a statement, Jeffress confirmed that the church had had “2,000 children and volunteers” take part in a VBS event, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Jeffress previously endorsed former President Donald Trump as he was running for president in 2016.
“We continue to praise God for His hand of protection on our church. We are grateful that no one was injured today and are thankful for the first responders who helped contain the fire to our Historic Sanctuary,” Jeffress wrote in another post on X. “They continue working but the primary fire has been extinguished. One way or another, we intend to meet for church this Sunday. More details to follow. We hope to see you there.”
The church website describes the “cornerstone of First Baptist Dallas” as having been “laid in 1890 by a small group of believers determined to begin a Baptist church in downtown Dallas.”