A man was injured during a fire at a church Monday evening in Hammond, Indiana, officials said.
Calumet Avenue was shut down at Michigan Street about 6 p.m. near Bethel Congregational Church of God. The church’s façade was reduced to crumbling bricks that fell onto a nearby parked car and officials say the roof collapsed entirely.
Fire officials say they're still trying to determine the cause of an explosion that preceded the fire, but say nothing looks suspicious.
Witnesses say there was a loud boom followed by flames.
"I was a block-and-a-half away and felt the house violently shaking," said witness Steven Wiles.
Police say a deacon at the church suffered some burns but is lucky to be alive.
"There was a gentleman that had entered [the church] two minutes before the explosion," Hammond Fire Chief Jeff Smith told NBC 5. "He smelled gas, the next thing he heard was a pop and a boom and it blew him back—rolled down the stairs."
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Smith said he believes there could have been more injuries had the fire occurred during a prayer service that was scheduled later in the evening.
"It would have been a disaster," he said. "There are a lot of people who came here for food—people who really need it.”
