Fire crews from several departments were called to battle a fire at the Allen A.M.E Church in Franklin Street in Cape May Saturday.

According to Cape May Fire Department Officials, the fire begin after a traffic accident that resulted in live electrical lines falling onto the church.

On duty staff immediately identified the electrical hazard and requested a general alarm being struck, followed quickly by an upgrade to a first alarm structure fire. Fire crews were not able to make an immediate fire attack due to the entire building being electrically charged. A request was made to upgrade the assignment to a second alarm. Once power was secured crews were able to make an aggressive attack to bring the fire under control within 15 minutes and declared out approximately an hour and a half after first call.

The church sustained heavy damage.

More video of the fire are being shared on the Cape May Country Fire Department Facebook page.

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