8-Alarm Fire Destroys Church In South Jersey (PICS)

FLORENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — First responders continued operations through Tuesday morning at the site of a massive, eight-alarm fire that ripped through a South Jersey church and collapsed the facility's roof. The incident marked Burlington County's largest fire emergency in a decade, according to local officials.

The blaze occurred Monday at the Fountain of Life Center on Columbus Road in Florence Township. The fire was reported at around 6 p.m. while kids playing basketball behind the court observed smoke.

Responding units will remain at the building "for several hours," the Florence Township Fire Department said late Tuesday morning. The agency asked people to refrain from stopping to take photos, citing "the safety of first responders and the general public."

The fire was placed under control sometime after 2 a.m. Tuesday, per NBC Philadelphia, although NJ.com reported that firefighters were still battling smoldering "hotspots" as late as Tuesday morning. Overall, more than 150 firefighters fought to control the blaze.

See the fire below:

Officials haven't reported any injuries connected to the fire.

More than 50 firefighting agencies responded to the incident, making it Burlington County's largest fire emergency since 2013, when an 11-alarm blaze engulfed the Dietz & Watson plant in Delanco.

"Our thoughts are with the church’s congregation and school community who have been impacted," the Burlington County Board of Commissioners said in a joint statement. "The devastating loss will be felt by our entire county. While we were shaken to learn of the extent of the damages, we were relieved to learn that there was no loss of life or apparent injuries from the blaze."

The fire's cause remains under investigation, according to several media outlets. Churchgoers told NBC Philadelphia that the building's HVAC system was recently worked on.

The Fountain of Life Center is a multipurpose, 120,000-square-foot facility with a preschool, basketball courts and fitness center, according to its website. The school and recreation building survived the fire, according to multiple reports.

"It's a devastating loss," Russell Hodgins, a senior pastor at the center, told CBS Philadelphia. " ... The sanctuary's just been completely burned. The roof collapsing is a pretty embedded image in my mind."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.