Blaze damages northeast-side church

Fire tore through a northeast-side church sanctuary Thursday night shortly after services ended. Firefighters responded to a call from New Life Community Church of Truth, 6345 Massachusetts Ave., about 10:40 p.m. and found heavy smoke pouring from the 7,000-square-foot brick building. It took crews about 20 minutes to find the source of the fire, then 30 minutes to extinguish it. Officials estimate the blaze caused about $375,000 in damage to the sanctuary and roof. About 100 members of the congregation were at the church for evening services, which let out about 15 minutes prior to the fire being reported. No one was in the church when the blaze broke out.