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.
Commissioner @ChiefJoeFinn orders a 6th alarm with a special call for Tower Ladder 3 to respond at 6:05am
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
Response to 113 Harold St for the Church at approx 4:00 fire showing 2nd and 3rd alarm ordered pic.twitter.com/hYw31LGH1R
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
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.
Commissioner @ChiefJoeFinn with Incident Commander Division 2 Deputy Chief Stallworth. Still heavy fire with partial roof collapses. pic.twitter.com/INUdkmjH2d
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
>>RELATED: Dog alerts residents to flames as crews battle multi-alarm fire in Jamaica Plain
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.
Holy Mt Zion Church at 113 Harold St. Roxbury. Now a 4 alarm fire. Tough conditions as it is 9 degrees. Exterior operations only with a collapse zone set up. Ongoing.
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
9 degrees pic.twitter.com/h8PssGo6Eb
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
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.
One firefighter treated and transported by @BOSTON_EMS with a leg injury. No other injuries at this time.
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
UPDATE: one @BostonFire firefighter transported to the hospital for a leg injury. More than 100 firefighters are on scene battling a 6-alarm fire at the Holy Mt. Zion Church in Roxbury. Part of the roof and interior collapsed. Extreme cold a challenge. pic.twitter.com/DfUOCVaCpu
— Kelly Sullivan (@ksullivannews) February 2, 2019
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
Afterwards, Boston Fire estimated the damage done to the church at $1 million.
Initial damage estimate for the 113 Harold St. Roxbury 6 alarm fire is $1 million dollars. Fire Investigators have been on scene and the cause is under investigation at this time.
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 2, 2019
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."
>>RELATED: One dead after multi-alarm fire breaks out in Worcester early morning
One pastor who didn't want to go on camera said they're working on finding another place for the weekend's Sunday services.
Cox Media Group