On Friday, July 19th, a fire broke out at the first Baptist church in Dallas, Texas, which was built in 1868, leading to the partial collapse of the church’s second sanctuary.
Local fire captain Robert Borse stated that at 6:05 pm, thick smoke billowed from the sanctuary located at 1717 Saint Augustine Street, with signs of fire visible inside the building.
The executive pastor of the Dallas First Baptist Church, Ben Lovvorn, told the Dallas Morning News outside the church that he believed the fire occurred shortly after 6 p.m., but the cause of the fire was still unknown to him.
Lovvorn mentioned that he was among the last group to evacuate the building and confirmed that no injuries were reported.
The Dallas Fire Rescue initially classified the fire as a second-alarm blaze but upgraded it to a third-alarm at 7:25 pm.
According to the active call list on the Dallas Fire Rescue website, by around 8:20 pm, more than sixty emergency units had been dispatched to assist in extinguishing the fire.
Borse mentioned that they had not received any reports of evacuations in the area or damage to surrounding buildings, and the upgrading of the alarm level was partly to prevent the potential spread of the fire.
The church, established in 1868, has a history of 156 years.
Former President Trump visited the church in December 2021. The church’s senior pastor, Robert Jeffress, is a regular contributor to Fox News and one of Trump’s Christian advisors. During Trump’s presidency, Jeffress frequently visited the White House.