12 evacuated during downtown Phoenix church fire near Third Street and McDowell Road

Firefighters battled a first alarm church fire and evacuated 12 people early Tuesday near Third Street and McDowell Road.

Fire crews found smoke and flames coming from the roof of Grace Pointe Church at about 4 a.m., according to a statement from Capt. Todd Keller, a Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson. The fire was classified as first alarm due to the amount of smoke and flames.

The roof partially collapsed while crews were fighting the fire, and they switched to a more defensive strategy, Keller stated. Less than an hour after firefighters were called, they were able to control the blaze.

Twelve people were safely evacuated, according to Keller. One was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation. No firefighter injuries were reported.

The Phoenix Fire Investigations Task Force was investigating the cause of the fire, which was unknown as of Tuesday morning.

Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 12 evacuated during fire at Grace Pointe Church in downtown Phoenix