Fire crews called to St John the Baptist RC Church, Padiham

Crews were called to St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in St John’s Road shortly after 8am, after the fire was discovered by the headteacher of the primary school next door.

The damage is limited to one area at the back of the church, with no external damage.

Firefighters were seen clearing the premises of burnt pieces of wood as well as a piece of carpet.

Six fire engines were called to St John the Baptist RC Church in Padiham this morning (Image: NQ)

The school, St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, was closed this morning due to the number of fire engines on the narrow street and is unaffected by the fire.

The road was closed by police officers this morning but has since reopened at around 10.15am.

READ MORE: LIVE: St John's Road closed in Padiham due to church fire

Father David Featherstone, rural dean for the parish, said it’s not clear yet whether the church will be available for use during the upcoming busy Easter period.

He said: “We have got a contingency plan if the church can’t be used. We’ll be able to use the school hall if we need that, but we don’t know if we’ll need that yet.

Burnt pieces of wood were seen being carried out of the church (Image: NQ)

“It just depends on what they think the causes are and the extent of the damage.

“It’s a possibility we might not be able to use it but we have got a contingency plan in place.”

The cause of the fire is currently unknown and will be the subject of an investigation by the fire service.

Kathleen McKeating, headteacher of the nearby school, said: “They called a major incident because there’s a residential property attached, plus there’s the school next door.

“We’ve had to delay the opening of the school purely because of the number of fire engines that had to attend, but everything is contained now.

“They were going to send an aerial team up to look at the roof but it’s all contained.

“Obviously there are still so many checks to do. People from the diocese have come to support.

Six fire engines were originally called and two remained on site after 10am to monitor hotspots (Image: NQ)

“At one stage we had water leaking in but they’ve contained that now as well.

“The parishioners will be updated. There were plans in place for Easter so if there’s anything to be changed a notification will go out.”

The church is part of the Diocese of Salford and is led by Father Joseph Oluwafemi Ojelabi.

A fire service spokesperson said: “Six fire engines from Hyndburn, Burnley, Clitheroe, and Nelson, along with the aerial ladder platform from Preston, attended a church fire on St John’s Road, Padiham.

“Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used three hose reels to extinguish the fire."