DETROIT – Flames and thick smoke could be seen for miles Sunday morning after an abandoned apartment building went up in flames on Detroit's west side.
Heavy flames and black smoke blanketed the sky after the building caught fire on Martin Luther King and Lincoln around 6 a.m. Sunday.
"Basically we just make sure we put up water all around the building," said Battalion Chief Larry Gassel. "We are not going to save the building anymore. Let it burn itself out."
Firefighters rescued three people from the building. They didn't stick around long enough to shed any light on how the fire started.
"They took off as soon as they got out of the building," Gassel said.
Anthony Castelow is the senior elder at I Am My Brothers Keeper Ministries next door. He saw the flames on TV and rushed over. He feared there would be no more Sunday service in a building that's been in the community since the 1880s.
Castelow said it is a blessing that firefighters stopped the fire from spreading.
"They saved this building and with the Lord's help, the wind didn't blow this way," said Castelow. "I just thank God just what these guys do. Don't nobody give these guys a heck of a praise."
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire. The building is expected to be torn down sometime this week.