A massive blaze engulfed a nearly 200-year-old church in Brooklyn on Friday, causing the steeple to collapse and injuring a firefighter, FDNY officials said.
The fire broke out around 1:20 p.m. at South Bushwick Reformed Church on Bushwick Ave. near Himrod St. and quickly escalated to three alarms, a FDNY spokesperson said. Videos and photos on social media showed flames and clouds of dark smoke billowing from the steeple, which quickly collapsed around 20 minutes later, according to a witness who posted on X.
Firefighters brought the flames under control by 3:35 p.m., the FDNY spokesperson said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene. A total of 192 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the blaze.
The fire’s cause is currently being investigated.
The church was built in 1853, but the congregation dates back to the Dutch colonial period in the 1600s, according to the National Fund for Sacred Spaces. It’s one of only eight surviving wooden houses of worship in New York City that are officially landmarked by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.