INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis firefighters are working to learn what started a fire at a historic church Friday morning on the city's near northwest side.
Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at the historic Greater Zion Hill Baptist Church, located at 1902 N. Harding St., near West 18th Street and East Riverside Drive, around 5:15 a.m. July 26.
An IFD spokesperson said firefighters saw flames coming from the front of the church when they arrived on scene.
Crews told 13News no one was injured, and the building is salvageable.
Pastor Dr. Ramon Batts told 13News they won't be able to hold service at their location for some time, but their mission will continue.
"Taking care of the neighborhood in terms of clothing and feeding the neighborhood," Batts said. "Most of the churches in the neighborhood are the center point. We share this corner of course with Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street. We all try to work together. We're in the same business of saving souls and changing lives."
PHOTOS: Fire at near northwest Indianapolis church
The church is celebrating its 90th year and has 200 members.
Friday morning, the life of this church changed.
"Our alarm was going off, and so we had to head down here to see what was going on, and that's when we discovered the fire," Batts said.
Windows were busted out with visible damage.
"They were able to make entry with a little bit of difficulty because the building was pretty solid, closed up pretty tight, but they got in there and made an aggressive attack and were able to mark it under control in about 15 minutes," Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith said.
The church will work with its insurance company to determine how long it'll take to make repairs.
Batts already received a call from a nearby pastor, offering another location for their 200 members to worship.
"We'll take a look at that and see what's going to be best for us," Batts said. "We're still in the same business. This is a place where God is love, and people are loving, so we're going to love each other, we're going to love our community, we're going to rebuild and we're going to keep moving forward."