Church Fire's Cause Under Investigation

Tarzana (myFOXla.com) - A fire damaged St. Mary Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East in Tarzana and, while hundreds of parishioners were at the scene, none was injured, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said today.

It was unclear how the roughly 6:35 p.m. blaze at 5955 N. Lindley Ave. started, but firefighters had it out in about 25 minutes, Devin Gales of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Arriving firefighters reported smoke coming from stained-glass window at the front of the church, where a big eucalyptus tree also caught fire, he said.

Most of the damage appeared to be to the front of the building, but firefighters also cut holes in the roof. All together, 95 firefighters were assigned to the blaze.

The fire will be investigated by the House of Worship Task Force, which was set up years ago to examine a string of fires in predominately black churches.

The task force includes members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, FBI, Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Devin Gales of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

"We are still the lead agency because the fire was inside L.A. city limits, but the task force will make the final determination regarding the cause of the blaze and whether arson was involved," Gales said.