Fire destroys main sanctuary of Catholic church in Phoeni

PHOENIX (AP) — A fire of unknown origin destroyed the main sanctuary of a Catholic church in north Phoenix.

The Phoenix Fire Department says crews arriving early Wednesday morning found the fire well involved inside St. Joseph Catholic Church and that they decided to switch to a defensive strategy after finding that the fire had spread to the attic and begun to burn through the roof.

According to the department, the crews then worked to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby church buildings as dozens of firefighters responded.

There's no immediate word on possible of the fire and no firefighters were injured.

The church is located on North 40th Street near East Shea Boulevard.