More than 100 firefighters Sunday battled a major emergency fire in a two-story church in the South Park area of LA for one hour and 40 minutes.
Firefighters were expected to remain on the scene for some time to pour water on hot spots and smoldering debris, said the LA Fire Department's Nicholas Prange.
The fire was reported at 2:22 a.m. at the Victory Baptist Church, 4802 S. McKinley Ave., Prange said.
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Firefighters ended the offensive battle and took up defensive positions outside the building after the interior structure collapsed, trapping multiple firefighters, he said. One firefighter was taken to a hospital by paramedics with moderate injuries while another injured firefighter was in fair condition and would seek follow-up treatment later.
"Firefighters were engaged in a very active fire fight, the ceiling came down and we have several firefighters who got trapped," said Assistant Chief Jaime Moore, of the LA Fire Department. "One firefighter was at the entry way on the ground level when the ceiling came down on him and he was buried under a lot of burning debris."
The defensive fight was aimed at putting out the flames and protecting structures near the burning building.
The cause of the fire is unknown as authorities continue to investigate the incident.
Video on the Citizen app showed flames lapping up through the roof of the church.
