Fire crews in Troy battled a large fire at the Troy Church of Christ on Thursday morning.
See video from Chopper 7 below
Video from Chopper 7 showed multiple trucks and firefighters battling the fire from the ground and from ladders.
The Troy Church of Christ is on Trombley Rd., which is just northwest of the Rochester Rd. and Big Beaver intersection.
"Obviously it's devastating. This is more than a building for us. It's a second home. There are a lot of memories that are packed into the building for the life of the congregation. Seeing it go up in smoke is a little bit heartbreaking," Pastor Manuel Florescu said.
He said the church has been in the city since 1958, and was there before the houses were around it, and it became a community church.
Lt. Keith Young with the Troy Fire Department said that the fire is out but crews will continue to be hitting hot spots over the next few hours. He said there are about four stations and 60 firefighters battling the fire.
According to Young, fire crews initially thought the fire was going to be on the rear side of the building, but they found fire throughout when they went inside.
There was also a roof collapse at the church, Young said, but they had pulled all crews out of the building about five minutes before it happened.
