A bluestone church in Brighton dating back to the 1890s has been destroyed by fire this morning.
The intense blaze at St James Catholic Church on North Road could be seen from kilometres away. There are more than 80 firefighters at the scene.
The Church of St James on the corner of North Road and New Street caught fire shortly before 7am.
Smoke from the blaze can be seen from the West Gate Bridge.
“The sky is black,” a caller to radio station 3AW said.
The Age reporter Benjamin Preiss is at the scene and spoke to Pat Burke, who lives opposite the church. Pat heard sirens at 6.30am.
“I opened up the blinds and looked and all I could see was orange and the smoke,” she said. “I immediately ran out to see if we were at risk.”
“I can tell you the building has been severely damaged and there are concerns about structural stability, but that’s yet to be assessed,” MBF spokesman Keith Robinson said.
Mr Robinson said the fire was brought under control about 7.30am.
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