A fire broke out Sunday at the Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Charleston after a lightning strike.

Smoke could be seen rising from the church as Charleston firefighters worked to stamp out the fire, which had been extinguished by 3:15 p.m. Sunday.

Firefighters responded to the church around 2:30 p.m. and saw smoke venting from the top of the 100-foot steeple. They managed to contain the fire to the top of the steeple, the Charleston Fire Department said.

Witnesses in the area had observed a lightning strike near the building around 20 minutes before the fire began, and investigators determined a lightning strike was consistent with the damage sustained to the church.

The church's senior pastor, the Rev. Cress Darwin, said no one was in the building when the fire started, and no one was injured. No updates have been released on to what extent the church was damaged.

The Second Presbyterian Church was founded on Meeting Street in 1809. The church is the oldest building of the denomination in Charleston and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The church has seen its share of natural disasters, enduring damage from hurricanes in 1813, 1886 and 1989, as well as an earthquake in 1886.