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Six-alarm fire rips through Roxbury church for more than six hours

ROXBURY, Mass. — A six-alarm fire broke out at a church in Roxbury and lasted more than six hours before finally being extinguished.

Boston Fire responded to a blaze at 113 Harold Street at approximately 4 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the department’s official Twitter account.

The heavy fire that engulfed Holy Mount Zion Church caused partial roof collapses.

"It woke me up out of my sleep," Tyrone Peoples said. "I was like, 'Is something burning?' Made sure nothing electrical was going on."

Peoples said he smelled the smoke just after 3 a.m.

"What I saw was fire just about raising 20, 30 feet above the building," Peoples said.

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Adding to the danger were single-digit temperatures at the scene. Boston Fire stated that the conditions hovered around nine degrees, making battling the blaze even more difficult for the department.

Just after 6 a.m., nearly two hours after Boston Fire’s initial response, a sixth alarm was called for.

One firefighter was transported to the hospital with a leg injury, and investigators are still working to find out what caused the blaze.

Afterwards, Boston Fire estimated the damage done to the church at $1 million.

The building is more than 100 years old, a landmark to the Roxbury neighborhood.

"It's just sad to see something like this happen," Peoples said. "Everyone is inconvenienced. It's sad to hear when a fireman gets hurt doing his job. That's sad."

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One pastor who didn't want to go on camera said they're working on finding another place for the weekend's Sunday services.