Update: Historic First Unitarian Church of Detroit partially demolished after blaze; Arson investigation underway

DETROIT, MI - The First Unitarian Church of Detroit was gutted by an early Saturday morning fire. The Romanesque-style building at 2870 Woodward Ave. was built in 1889.

The church was supposed to be empty, though Detroit Fire Department battalion chief Kevin Kortas said it was not yet known Saturday morning whether anyone was inside.

"We're not letting our guys anywhere near that," he said. No firefighters were hurt battling the blaze.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

"It's vacant, so it could be vagrants, it could be arson, it could be any number of things," Kortas said.

Ahmed Malik said he was driving into the city from Sterling Heights at about 6 a.m. when he saw the church fully engulfed in flames.

"When we got here it was already burning up, and there were trucks all over the place," he said.