Damage is estimated at over 200 thousand dollars following a fire at Faith Baptist Church Monday.

The fire was called in to Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services just after 5 thirty, and Assistant Chief Dan Paulsen says crews were on the scene 4 minutes later.

He says crews battled the blaze for about 40 minutes before bringing it under control.

According to Paulsen, police and fire personnel are on the scene now, as the cause remains under investigation, "You look at what is a possible ignition source, and once you rule out the possibles, you move to the other avenues, you know, whether it's electrical, or if there's evidence of forced entry, et cetera."

Paulsen says the fire was limited to the church itself, "There was nobody in the building at this time and I understand the people to the south needed to be evacuated simply because of smoke but there was no fire extension to any other outlying properties."

(pb aug 13/12)