A serious fire damaged a century-old church in New York's East Village on Saturday and forced the Fire Department to deploy more than 100 troops who were still putting out the fire for almost five hours.
The fact did not leave deaths.
The fire started around five in the morning in an empty building and spread to the adjoining Protestant church,
the Middle Collegiate Church, which was built in 1892 and has been the scene of historical events in the country's history
, according to local media.
Some neighbors recorded videos of the well-known sanctuary being devoured by flames at night, shocking images that have been shared on social networks and have provoked a broad solidarity response.
The Reverend Jacqui Lewis, who serves in the temple, said through her Twitter account that the community is "devastated" but assured that "no fire can stop revolutionary love" and was grateful that there were no deaths.
Around 10:00 in the morning, the firefighters continued working on the "6 alarms" fire - a category that involves a large deployment, of more than a hundred agents - but no fire was observed anymore, according to the Department account.
The adjoining five-story building was the victim of an accidental fire in February due to a power failure and the cause of this new incident, which has collapsed its roof and floors, as well as the church roof, is unknown, according to authorities. .
"Unfortunately it seems that it has been quite bad, the sanctuary is not in good shape and we have some beautiful tiffany tinted windows that have been lost
," the minister of the center, Amanda Ashcraft, told ABC7.
Middle Church argued in a message that the Church "is not a building, but buildings matter," so it has opened a page to receive donations.
With information from EFE
