Vancouver church roof may collapse from fire

Vancouver fire crews battled a three-alarm blaze at a church in the 100 block of East 50 Avenue that started Thursday afternoon.

Fire officials still have yet to release an exact cause of the fire, but they say flames ate away at the building from within the high ceilings. The fire was reported by roofers working on the building, and some witnesses say they saw the roofers using blow torches.

All of the building's occupants and the roofers were evacuated, said officials. 

"They [the roofers] weren't trapped up there. They were probably more unaware that the fire was burning around them. We had a crew here doing inspections, saw the fire, turned it in.  They probably advised the roofers it was time to get off the roof," says Bruce Tebbitt, the acting battalion chief.

Residents in the area were advised to close their windows due to the heavy, black smoke and affected traffic in the area.

Firefighters had to step back as the roof began to buckle. 

Some residents believe the church, which was built in the 1960s, likely won't survive this.

"My family went to this church. They were part of the founding families that built the church, lots of memories," said Sylvia Blessin, who was devastated to see the destruction. 

"It's like anything from your childhood that there's lot of memories that are tied to it."