NEW ORLEANS — A fire broke out at the Austerlitz Street Baptist Church Friday morning and 22 units from the New Orleans Fire Department responded.
The fire began shortly after 9:15 a.m. A fire department spokesperson said that two people reported seeing a fireball coming from a pipe when they turned the lights on. They immediately called 911.
Firefighters said they had to cut into walls and ceilings to extinguish fires that were in the walls and attic spaces. Damage to the building appeared extensive from photos.
Fortunately there were no injuries, but NOLA.com reported that Pastor Sherman Washington said the 168-year-old church was badly damaged.
"I could just sit down and cry," he told NOLA.com.
Also Friday morning, New Orleans Police took a man into custody after a report of shots fired near a church in the Pontchartrain Park subdivision.
The shots brought a heavy police presence to the 4500 block of Mendez Street. No one was injured, but police said they found two handguns in possession of a suspect who was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
The NOPD says that when he is released, he'll be arrested for illegal discharge of a firearm.