First Baptist Dallas’ chapel is a charred shell after Friday fire

A four-alarm blaze caused the chapel to collapse Friday. THE BIG STORY [Dallas Fire-Rescue and ATF officials walk toward First Baptist Dallas on Saturday morning. Some windows of the church are broken out and the building is a shell of what it used to be.]( Fire officials investigate, Saturday, July 20, 2024, after a fire early Friday evening at the historic First Baptist Dallas church in downtown Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer) [First Baptist Dallas’ chapel is a charred shell, but ‘our church is not a building’]( Amid the smell of smoke, Dallas Fire-Rescue on Saturday continued to spray water on a fire-damaged chapel, now a charred shell, at First Baptist Dallas in the aftermath of a four-alarm blaze. Debris could be seen through the structure’s red-brick walls and window panes. At least two Fire-Rescue trucks remained at the scene. Dallas Fire-Rescue on Friday battled the fire at First Baptist Dallas church that caused the historic church’s secondary chapel — which served as a place of worship for over a century until the church opened a new facility in 2013 — to “largely” collapse, an official said. In an interview in front of the historic sanctuary Saturday morning, Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn said church officials are still weighing options on where Sunday services will be held. [“Our church is not a building,”]( he said. “It’s not bricks and mortar. It’s the people, and we’re going to come together and we’re going to worship together.” [READ MORE]( Related: - [PHOTOS: First Baptist Dallas’ chapel is a charred shell]( - [What we know: Fire breaks out at First Baptist Church of Dallas]( - [What to know about First Baptist Dallas church, the site of a major fire on Friday]( [The Dallas Morning News]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [X (formerly Twitter)]( [YouTube]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Account Login]( | [Help Center]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Manage Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( ©2024 The Dallas Morning News • 1954 Commerce St. • Dallas, TX 75201