3 days ago
‘Hard to just stand and watch;' Large fire destroys historic Catholic church
People said, 'It was tough to watch' when the steeple of a historic Catholic church collapsed from a fire Thursday.
>>PHOTOS: Smoke, flames pour from large fire at local Catholic church
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News Center 7's Xavier Hershovitz is in Mercer County to check out the damage as we work to learn what's next for this church LIVE on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. until 7 a.m.
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Crews were called to the fire at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Maria Stein around 2:30 p.m., according to Joe Hartings, Chickasaw Volunteer Fire Department fire chief.
As previously reported by News Center 7, workers on the roof were placing shingles when they saw smoke and called 911, Hartings said.
Around 7 p.m., the steeple of the church collapsed.
News Center 7's cameras were rolling when the church's steeple crumbled in the flames.
Hershovitz said the fire was so massive that help was called from nearly 20 other departments.
'It's definitely hard to just stand and watch, even though there's not much else you can do,' said Brad Spettel.
'It's sad to see it in this condition,' said Kevin Schlater.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati released a statement stating they were 'deeply saddened' by the destruction the fire caused.
We are working to learn how much damage the fire caused.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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