A fire in the Dallas area on Friday caused extensive damage to a church and injured at least one firefighter.
According to the Dallas Fire Department, the fire broke out around 12:30 p.m. Friday at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.
The pastor, PD Taylor, 85, who walks with a cane and was preparing for his Sunday sermon in the church office when he noticed smoke. He was the only person inside Pleasant Valley Baptist Church at the time the blaze began, having been pastor for 48 years.
Smoke rises from the historic First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas.
Taylor safely evacuated the church and called his wife, Jeannie.
“Jeannie, the building is on fire. Please pray,” the pastor told FOX4 Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue told FOX 4 Dallas that 50 firefighters were on scene trying to put out the two-alarm blaze. One firefighter on scene was injured and taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.
One firefighter is in stable condition after being injured while battling a Dallas church fire on Friday. (KDFW)
Pastor PD Taylor spoke to FOX 4 Dallas from a peaceful perspective about the disaster.
“I don’t have to worry because there’s a reason. I know where I’m going when I die because on December 3rd, 1967, I accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of my life,” Taylor said.
Dr. Robert Jeffries thankful no one was injured in Dallas First Baptist Church fire: ‘God protected us’
Pastor Taylor is thankful the fire was primarily confined to the office area of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and did not spread significantly into the worship area.
“We see God at work. We trust God,” Taylor asserted.
A Dallas Baptist church sustained extensive damage after a fire of unknown cause broke out on Friday. (KDFW)
Pleasant Valley Church members will not be able to meet in their chapel this Sunday, but will host a regular church meeting somewhere in the area.
This is the second major fire to break out at a Dallas-area Baptist church within a week, with the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas also suffering a fire on Friday, July 19.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The cause of a fire that broke out Friday at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church remains under investigation.
