BALTIMORE COUNTY — Baltimore County firefighters were on the scene of a church fire Tuesday afternoon.
Fire crews responded to the St. Rita Catholic Church in Dundalk around 2:34 p.m.
When they arrived, they saw fire and smoke coming from the second floor of the church.
Officials say due to the size of the building, this required a second alarm, bringing nearly 75 fire and EMS crews to the scene.
One firefighter was treated for a heat-related illness.
Fire investigators determined the cause of the fire was natural. Storm data shows that between 2:25 p.m. and 2:28 p.m., seven lighting strikes happened less than a mile from the church.
The first 911 call reporting the fire came just minutes later, at 2:34 p.m.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore praised the firefighters for their response.
"Thank you to Baltimore County Fire Fighters on their response to the fire out break at Saint Rita Church in Dundalk. We pray for the area community and parishioners of Our Lady of Hope/St. Rita Church and all who worship there," they wrote in a Facebook post.
