HOUSTON --
A huge fire destroyed a southeast Houston church on Thursday night, KPRC Local 2 reported.
A police officer spotted the fire at Community of the Servant-Savior Presbyterian Church at 11300 Hughes Road near Sageglen Drive at about 11:15 p.m.
Investigators said the two-alarm fire started on the west side of the church.
"It was pretty intense," Houston Fire Department spokesman Pat Trahan said. "When they (firefighters) arrived, they had to go into a defensive position. Even as they were fighting the fire with the ladders, the heat was pretty intense. They had to water down the trucks and try to maintain the trucks while they were fighting the fire."
The flames spread quickly. Officials said 75 percent of the 40-year-old building was engulfed in flames when they arrived.
"It's an older wood and it dried up for over 35 years, so when it caught fire, it was a very intense fire," Capt. Adrian Trevino said.
Investigators said the fire was sparked by incendiary devices, which meant something was used to start and spread it.
What was left of the building was torn down early Friday. Investigators said it was too dangerous to allow to be left standing.
Church members said their building may be gone, but their spirit is still going strong.
"The community is the church and there's nobody who's going to take that from us," Darcy Bryan-Wilson said. "My babies were baptized here. My sister was married here. I renewed my vows here."
A neighboring church said it will help in the cleanup.
"This remarkable church, it's small, but we do a lot of work in the community," Art Niebuhr said.
Church members said this church was the only open and affirming church in the area, which means they accept gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered persons.
The church has received hate mail in the past.
"The outcasts of the society is where we go because we believe that's where Jesus would go. That's where Jesus would have us go," said Bryan-Wilson. "Yes, we have homosexuals who worship with us because we believe that they, too, are beloved children of God."
Church members plan to worship at the site on Sunday. The church has a congregation of about 30.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is taking part in the investigation into the cause of the fire.
A CenterPoint Energy worker was injured during the fire while trying to cut off power running to the building. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Copyright 2010 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
