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Historic Killeen church destroyed by fire days after celebrating 75th anniversary

fox7austin.com · 3h · first reportShare

An historic church in Killeen has been destroyed by a fire just days after it celebrated its 75th anniversary "With hearts filled with sadness, we share the heartbreaking news that Simmonsville Missionary Baptist Church suffered a devastating fire today, just two days after we gathered together to celebrate 75 years of service, faith, love, and ministry," the church posted on its Facebook page on Sept. 15. "75 years of service cannot be erased by one day. We have a history. We have a testimony. We have memories. And most importantly, we still have God." "As we mourn what happened today, let us stand together—not in fear, but in faith." Killeen officials say the Killeen Fire Department responded to the fire on Sept. 15 in the 500 block of S. 42nd Street at around noon. Crews arrived and found a vegetation fire that had spread to the church and flames were coming out of the roof. The fire was brought under control at around 12:45 p.m. 33 Killeen Fire Department personnel responded to the