Priest treated for smoke inhalation following early morning fire at Monroeville church

MONROEVILLE (KDKA) – A church was damaged and a priest was taken to the hospital after flames tore through it early Thursday morning.

A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh told KDKA that emergency medical services crews took a priest to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but he has since been released.

“A priest was taken to hospital for evaluation after breathing in smoke and, fortunately, has since been released. The rectory suffered extensive damage. The cause is under investigation by the of Allegheny County Fire Commissioner Bishop David Zubik is out of town for the spring meetings of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was informed of the fire and expressed his gratitude. to first responders and to God that no one was seriously injured.

The fire happened on Azalea Drive near Garden City Drive in Monroeville in the rectory of Christ the Divine Shepherd Church.

From above you can see the flames that caused significant damage to the building located on the church campus.

The fire broke out shortly after 12:30 a.m. and that's when crews were called to respond to the commercial structure fire. The Penn Hills Fire Department said they were called for help when it was a two-alarm fire.

The diocese says Bishop David Zubik is out of town but was informed of the fire and expressed gratitude to first responders and is thankful no one was seriously injured.

The fire is currently under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal.

We'll have more on this story throughout the morning, stay with KDKA on air and online for the latest news.