Fire engulfs, destroys west Oak Cliff church

DALLAS - A three-alarm fire destroyed an Oak Cliff church on Wednesday morning.

Firefighters started battling the fire at the Iglesias de Cristo church in the 800 block of Westmoreland Road around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. No one was injured, but the entire sanctuary was destroyed. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby classrooms.

Video shot by FOX 4 viewer Alex Lujan shows intense flames shooting through the roof and a thick cloud of black smoke. The smoke was also visible from Texas Department of Transportation traffic cameras.

The church's minister and his wife, who live in a house next door, said they were woken up by a Good Samaritan banging on their door.

“We peeked out the door and saw the big flames and we were shocked, we couldn't believe it but we knew it was real,” said minister’s wife Edith Lima.

Daniel Pesina was jogging in the area and saw the flames.

"I saw like a large flame in the sky. It was like a large lantern and I've never seen anything that massive," he said. "You could see it straight up into the sky, not even looking at the fire. That's how bright it was."

Westmoreland Road was shut down between Fort Worth Avenue and Davis Street while crews worked to put out the blaze.

Lima said if it's up to her and her husband, they will rebuild the church.