A church fire in Philadelphia has left about 300 Presbyterians from five congregations without their 100-year-old place of worship.
The fire heavily on Monday morning heavily damaged the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, Mary Lou Adams, wife of Good Shepherd pastor J.B. Adams, told the Philadelphia Media Network.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the three-story church, with flames quickly spreading throughout, said WCAU-TV.
Scene commander Robert Corrigan said firefighters did not have enough water to fight the blaze offensively. He told WCAU the firefighters were pulled back from the building to stage a defensive attack.
More than 100 firefighters took two hours to bring the fire under control, said Philadelphia Media Network. The roof was destroyed and badly burned wood trusses left the walls unstable.
"It's going to be a big loss," Pauline Rosenberg, vice president of the Neighbors of Overbrook Association, told the Philadelphia Media Network. "People are just not going to know what to do. It was so much more than a church."
Charles Adams, the pastor's identical twin brother, and Rick Klemm lived in upper-floor apartments at the church but both managed to escape.
Klemm said he was taking a shower when the fire started and escaped with little more than towel around him as his hallway filled with smoke.
"I was trying to feel my way to the stairs," Klemm said. "This is unreal. (I was thinking) I'm going to die with nothing but a towel around me."
Fire officials told WPVI-TV they believed the fire started in the basement but didn't have an immediate cause.
Some posted videos and photos of the massive fire on social media.
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