CLEVELAND — A massive fire gutted a church in the Asiatown section of Cleveland's Goodrich-Kirtland Park neighborhood Thursday afternoon and evening.
The blaze broke out around 5:45 p.m. at the Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Temple on East 36th Street. The Cleveland Division of Fire says nearly 50 firefighters from 10 different companies responded.
Pastor Ariel Santiago was inside when flames engulfed the 156-year-old building.
"The firemen, they open [the door] and say, 'Come on, Pastor!'" Santiago remembered. "'Outside, because it's burning everything!'"
The thick smoke could be seen for miles.
"It's a big structure," Fire Lieutenant Mike Norman admitted. "It's a challenging fire, because the fire is underneath the roof. It's a big roof, and then you have that tall spire in the front. There's a lot of fire inside that spire."
Firefighters poured water on and into the church, battling the blaze well after dark. Heartbroken parishioners could only console each other and cry as they watched their place of worship fall.
Despite the destruction, no injuries were reported. Santiago says everything is in God's hands now.
"I'm just going to pray," the pastor told 3News. "This night, I'm sure I'm going to be crying."
The Ohio Fire Marshal is working to determine the cause of the incident, though arson has been ruled out.