Authorities officially determined a lightning strike was the cause of a massive fire that destroyed a historic church in Spencer on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services told 7NEWS that investigators made the determination after officials with the Spencer Fire Department and Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit reviewed what was left of the First Congregational Church of Spencer.
The fire at 207 Main Street went to six alarms at the time, with over 80 firefighters from nearly 18 fire departments called in before it was extinguished, according to the spokesperson.
No injuries were reported, but the 160-year-old church was decimated by the blaze, with its steeple collapsing to its side at one point as flames burned through the rest of the house of worship.
“For a lot of folks its a death in the family, for folks who have gone through life milestones here from baptisms to weddings to funerals, it’s devastating,” said Rev. Dr. Bruce MacLeod said at the time.
The following Sunday, services for the church took place at Washburn Square at the First Congregational Church in Leicester.
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