Fire destroys 130-year-old South Side church in Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A fire destroyed a 130-year-old South Side church on Saturday morning. 

The flames caused the Advocate United Church of Christ steeple to collapse, which hit an SUV and a house. At one point, that steeple was the highest point in the East Side, pastor Malcolm Griffith said. 

An alarm company alerted Pastor Griffith of the fire around 3 a.m.

Griffith said the church has about 50 to 75 members and serves approximately 200 homeless and migrants. The fire destroyed more than the structure, but also donations for those groups of people.

When Griffith arrived, "flames were coming out of the steeple and the bell towers. You could see it shooting up in the air."

"I lost it," he said. "You know, it's one thing to hear it. Then, it's another thing to see it."

The church was built by hand by German immigrants in 1892, Griffith said. The steeple was used as a focal point during the construction of the Chicago Skyway, Griffith said. 

 "Sometimes we don't know exactly why, but we trust God that he'll take us to the next steps and the next direction in which we need to go. Right now, we just don't have any answers. We're just waiting on Him to give us direction."

When they arrived in the middle of the night, Chicago firefighters set up a perimeter around the building at10259 S. Avenue L.     There were no reported injuries. 

Nearby homes were evacuated, and CTA warming buses were brought in for those residents. 

At 7:30 a.m., firefighters poured water into the damaged structure from three towers and one hose from the ground. The fire was extinguished around 8:30 a.m.

Church Deacon Latonia Watson, a church member for more than ten years, said:  "Advocate United Church of Christ was a blessing to me at a time when things were not black and white. They were gray for me."

"It was a place for me that showed me love. A place for me that showed me how to serve."