Early Morning 3-Alarm Fire Damages Richmond's Bethel Church

RICHMOND (CBS SF) -- A 3-alarm fire erupted early Tuesday morning inside Richmond's Bethel Church, sending flames towering out of the structure's roof and bringing firefighters from nearby cities to help battle the blaze.

Richmond fire officials said they received calls reporting the fire in the church located at 3429 Cutting Blvd. at around 5:30 a.m. Arriving firefighters were greeted by towering flames roaring out the of roof. They immediately upped the response to three alarms and got assistance from crews from Pinole and El Cerrito.

The church has not held services for weeks due to the local shelter in place order. The fire caused major damage to the historic church, which once housed a local movie theater and was built in the 1930-40s.

Battalion Chief Noah Brownlow told the East Bay Times that "the damage is pretty extensive. It's pretty well spread out in the church."

There were on injuries reported.

"I was praising God no one was here, that it was this time of morning, that the church was shut down and that nobody was hurt," said Bishop Billy Wydermyer, Bethel Church's pastor for the past 11 years, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Fire officials were trying to determine the cause of the blaze.