Fire tore through a building on the grounds of an Oceanside church on Monday evening, destroying the structure, a fire official said.
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The fire was reported shortly after 5 p.m. at a building at Community Lutheran Church on Mission Avenue at Valley Heights Drive, Oceanside Fire Department Battalion Chief Anthony Walker said.
The building that was destroyed was a residential unit that had also been used for storage. The resident who lives in the unit was not home at the time of the fire, said fire Battalion Chief Matthew Price.
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The church itself was not damaged.
Fire crews arrived to find the building fully engulfed in flames, with fire coming from all four walls and the roof. They were able to contain the fire to the building, preventing it from spreading.
“Large volumes of water were delivered by multiple fire engines, along with an elevated stream from an Oceanside ladder truck,” an Oceanside Fire Department news release said. It took crews about 40 minutes to put out the fire.
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The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.
