A historic church built in 1860 on Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, was engulfed in flames on Friday.
The community is devastated after the landmark South Bushwick Church was destroyed by a fire.
The steeple collapsed as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
The cause of the fire is unclear.
CBS News reported:
A raging fire destroyed a historic church in Brooklyn on Friday.
Dramatic video shows the moment the steeple collapsed.
The FDNY said they got a call at 1:22 p.m. reporting heavy flames at South Bushwick Church near Himrod Street in Bushwick. It quickly escalated to a second, then a third alarm with nearly 200 first responders called to the scene.
“Black and grey smoke going up, going up, going up,” witness Anthony Williams said, “and then the tower on the top just went up into flames.”
Videos show the steeple of the church engulfed in flames, and another video shows the moment the steeple collapses, disappearing into a cloud of heavy smoke.
“It seemed like there was a collective gasp, and then a moment of silence where everyone I think was just trying to figure out how to respond,” neighbor Chelsea Hightower said.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention.
WATCH:
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
