Firefighters were called to the church in Hebersham around 3 am after reports of a large blaze. The fire was reported in three sectors of the complex, with video footage showing towering flames visible from the street and nearby homes, reports 9 News.
“We found the administration side of this building well alight,” Inspector Steve Perkins from Fire and Rescue NSW said, according to Nine. He noted that as many as 120 personnel were involved in extinguishing the blaze and credited their efforts with preventing the destruction of the entire building.
“They did a lot of great work to try and cut the fire off from progressing into the main auditorium and chapel area of the church, and they were successful in that,” Perkins said. “We were able to save a good portion of the building.”
No one was inside the church at the time, and all members of the church have been accounted for. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
The blaze comes just days after a gunman rammed his truck into another church belonging to the faith in Michigan. Thomas Sanford opened fire on worshippers and set the building ablaze. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, citing the FBI, the attacker specifically targeted members of the church out of hatred for their religion.
Four people were killed and eight others wounded in that attack at the Grand Blanc congregation, about 60 miles northwest of Detroit. Authorities identified the shooter as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. Sanford was killed after exchanging gunfire with police.
