An early morning fire is under control after it claimed an Eastside church Monday morning.

Saskatoon's Faith Baptist church on the corner of Munroe Avenue and Third Street East went up in flames just before 5 a.m.

Charlie Villanie lives in the house beside the church and called 911 when he was awoken by smoke filling his house.

"My daughter woke us up because she couldn't breathe," he said.

"Her back window faces the church and her room was just covered in smoke."

When he went outside he said he saw billowing smoke coming out of the back of the building and saw reflections of flames in the windows.

Saskatoon Fire Services responded quickly and it took around an hour to get the blaze under control.

Assistant Fire Chief Dan Paulson said that it will still require time to find hot and soft spots.

"We have a number of spots within the structure that are considered soft which means that there has been flame and singe that is giving structural instability," he said.

Paulson said that when those spots are found and the church becomes more open they will have a better idea of how much damage there is.

Investigators are on the scene to figure out how the fire started.

Early preliminary damages are estimated in excess of $200,000.

 ccarr@rawlco.com

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