Fire is still under investigation – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of a massive Level Four fire that destroyed a historic chapel at First Baptist Dallas Church.

Meanwhile, church leaders say they are continuing to plan for the continuation of services in the coming days and weeks.

Three days have passed and people are still curious and eager to go and see what’s left of the historic chapel in downtown Dallas. For those who had a close connection to the church, decades of memories lie in the rubble.

The senior pastor, Ben Lovvorn, was baptized here as a young boy and married here years later.

“Believe it or not, my family has been in this church for five generations, over a hundred years,” he said. “So I grew up in this room, the historic sanctuary, just like our pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress.”

As church leaders, the short-term goal is to get the congregation back into the adjacent sanctuary, which will require some work between now and Sunday morning. Lovvorn said they are working to make sure the air is clean and items are sanitized.

The historic chapel caught fire on Friday evening and had to be brought under control by around 50 firefighters. No deaths or injuries were reported after the fire broke out on Friday evening in the Texas Historic Landmark, a red brick Victorian-style church built in 1890. It took firefighters about three hours to contain the blaze.

On Monday, pastors and engineers presented a 200-page report to the Dallas Fire Department to help decide whether investigators will be given full access to the building.

“It represents a plan that would allow us to put up a structure that would help us secure the building. In the meantime, we make sure everything is safe,” Lovvorn said. “It would also protect the site so they can do what they want to do.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but services are still taking place. The damage to the historic chapel is significant, but there is hope that the remains can be preserved and become part of future construction on the site.

“There are people all over the country and even all over the world who have ties to First Baptist Dallas,” Lovvorn said. “But our message to them is that First Baptist Dallas is stronger than ever. We are more committed than ever to changing the world with the truth of God’s Word.”