STERLING HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Multiple fire crews were called to the scene of a blaze Wednesday at Sterling Heights church.
While there have been no injuries, the fire that broke out a little after noon at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church -- at Mound Road and Almore, north of 14 Mile Rd. -- "did a lot of damage," according to Sterling Heights Fire Chief Chris Martin.
"There was a maintenance man working on sweating some air conditioning lines and when he left for a little while the fire broke out," he told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "Fire crews got there quickly, but the fire had spread into the attic, and the attic was very difficult to get to because of the construction. The facility had different kinds of construction on top of construction and it made it difficult for the crews to access the void spaces."
Martin said they had to reach out to some neighboring communities for help.
"Right now we have Clinton Township that's helping to fill one of our stations, because most of our rigs are tied up," he said, a little later in the afternoon. "And we just called Warren for some help because most of our guys need a little bit of rehab before they can get back going."
The flames were out by around 2 p.m., as crews continued to work on hot spots.
Martin said much of the damage done to the church is a result of how crews had to get to the fire, along with some water damage.
Northbound Mound Road was blocked to traffic north of 14 Mile Road as a result of the fire.
