Firefighters battle early morning church fire

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Fire crews were on the scene of a fire at Taylor Chapel United Methodist Church on Maysville Road for several hours early Monday morning.

An alarm went off around 12:40 a.m. The first firefighters on the scene found heavy smoke coming from the church.

Fire officials then called for a second alarm.

"Due to the size of the building, smoke conditions were such that it took them a little while to find the fire," said Mark Nelson with the Fort Wayne Fire Department. "They did a really good job of navigating the building through the heavy smoke. They found the fire in the sanctuary and were able to confine the fire primarily to the sanctuary area."

Steven Conner, senior pastor of the church, said he's been receiving outpouring support from the community.

"Tangible support, moral support, prayer support. The community comes together and we so much appreciate everyone's expression support," he said.

He said the church does have insurance and plan to rebuild the sanctuary. Conner told NewsChannel 15 the church will have service this Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Family Life Center.

Firefighters said the sanctuary has pretty extensive damage.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, one was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Investigators are now trying to find out how the fire started.

TRAA, FWPD, AEP and Nipsco assisted at the scene.