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LEESBURG - The Leesburg Grace Brethren Church was destroyed in a blaze early this morning.
Neighbors of the church, located on Pearl and Church streets, reported smelling smoke in the area. The first call for the Leesburg Fire Department came in at 3:50 a.m.
Flames were coming through the roof of one half of the structure, and the entire building was engulfed when firemen arrived to investigate.
Leesburg Fire Chief Mitch Rader said the fire must have burned for some time inside the structure before fire crews were called.
One half of the church, built in 1977, was completely burned to the ground. The historic stone half of the building is still standing, although the inside was gutted and the roof damaged by the flames.
Rader said fire crews needed about 1-1/2 hours to get the blaze under control. The fire was contained to the church; no other property was damaged. No one was injured.
Personnel from Warsaw and Milford fire departments assisted in fighting the blaze, combining forces to provide 35-40 firefighters. By 9:30 a.m., the fire crews had put out all the hot spots and were ready to begin digging to search for the cause.
The State Fire Marshal also is investigating the cause of the fire.
Pastor Jeff Hoffard said when he arrived at the scene at 4 a.m., the church was engulfed and flames were coming through every opening in the building.
Hoffard said they lost almost everything in the building and church office. "There are a lot of memories here," he said. "Many one-of-a-kind things are gone."
But he said, "The church is people, not the building. There is not much loss because we are still here."
Church members will meet at 7 tonight in the parking lot on Pearl Street to discuss the fire. Hoffard said they have not discussed any building plans, but others in the community have already offered assistance.
The stone half of the building is between 75 and 100 years old, according to Hoffard. The Grace Brethren Church obtained the old Church of God facility in 1946. They almost doubled the size of the structure in 1977 for their 70-member congregation.
