Fire destroys former Fort Wayne church building

 FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Part of the roof of a former church building collapsed as flames filled the structure Thursday night.

24-Hour News 8’s sister station, WANE, report the roof came down about 45 minutes after fire crews first arrived at the building. You can see it collapse in the video above.

Fort Wayne firefighters were called to the building at 1413 Hanna St. around 6:45 p.m. That’s near the Hayden Street intersection.

When crews first arrived, the building was full of smoke. Crews first started to fight the fire from inside the building, but were driven out by high heat and unsafe conditions.

It took about 20 to 30 minutes to get the fire under control. The cause is still under investigation.

Assistant Chief Jim Murua said the building used to be used as a church, but it’s been vacant for a long time. No one was inside at the time of the fire.