A fire broke out at the Bear Creek Community Church on Finley road around 6 o’clock Thursday morning. Dozens of firefighters battled the flames but much of the church was destroyed. Members of the church say they are determined to make their sanctuary home again.

The sanctuary of an Irving church known for helping the homeless was destroyed in a large fire before sunrise Thursday morning.
Video from Texas Sky Ranger showed flames soaring above the Bear Creek Community Church on Finley Road shortly before 7 a.m. Crews escalated the fire to three alarms by about 7:15 a.m., about an hour after first arriving at the scene.

No one was inside the sanctuary area when the fire started, though about 11 people were staying in a connected building where the church sheltered the homeless, said Rick Sanderson, Irving fire battalion chief.