Fire causes significant damage to church in St. Paul

A fire investigation continued Wednesday into a blaze that caused "significant damage" to a St. Paul church a day earlier, authorities said.

Firefighters were alerted shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday to the blaze at the St. Paul Eastside Seventh-day Adventist Church at Earl Street and E. Minnehaha Avenue, St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Alan Gabriele said.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames showing from the second floor, the Fire Department said.

Firefighters doused the blaze and cleared the scene about three hours later, Gabriele said. The church was unoccupied at the time, and there were no signs of a break-in, the department said.

The church has "some signs of significant damage, for sure," Gabriele said.