again, three-alarm fire here on delafield avenue. it's not clear if it's under control at this point, but like i said, we're about to speak to the chiefs. they're right behind me. we'll bring you an update as soon as that becomes available. back to you. >> tracie, thank you. >>> right now, the heavy rain

a church fire on delafield avenue now being called suspicious. tracie strahan has been there r for us this morning. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, michael, it was under control, but i have to show you they've gone back in to tackle some hot spots here at the house of miracles here on delafield. they're putting water on hot spots at this church, which was absolutely destroyed by a three-alarm fire just after 2:00 this morning. we'll show you some video of how intense those flames were. up to the sky, destroying the roof, toppling the steeple according to a resident who was nearby in this area. at one point, the smoke was so dense, they told people around here to close their windows and doors. we have video from the scene. 150 firefighters here battling this thing froms ex the exterior. it took them a couple hours to get things under control and extinguish the flames. we spoke to the chief, who told us they also had a little help from mother nature. >> actually, the rain and weather conditions usually hamper us, but they helped us because th

this week and the threat from what used to be a rather charge church on delafield on staten island. take a look at this cell phone video taken from a neighbor early this morning. you can see a lot of smoke and flames. the fire broke out after 2:00 this morning. firefighters say when they arrived they were up against a significant amount of fire. in fact, the roof was already in the process of collapsing when they arrived. another concern early on were flying embers. that was a concern that those flying embers might hit the rooftops tf adjacent homes and igniting more fires. however, because of that heavy rain, that prevented that from happening. the fire at the moment is considered suspicious because of the high volume of fire firefighters were up against when they arrived. we spoke to a neighbor who said when he stepped out of his home he could not believe how large the fire was and just how tall the flames reached. >> they were big. the windows and everything. that's all i know about. the booms, the bangs, i seen the tower come down, the flames were hot, people had to back up, get

the fire on delafield avenue broke out around 2:00 this morning. firefighters say they came up against what seemed to be clouds of smoke and heavy flames here. again, more than 140 firefighters on the scene trying to get this thing under control. the sign outside the church says house of miracles. neighbors and even the fire department saying this church has been vacant for quite some time. there is -- the flames for the most part are out. there is smoke coming from outside the building. at the height of the fire, a lot of flames and smoke. neighbors say at one point in time, because of the embers coming from the building, it looked as if it was raining fire. take a listen. >> the fire trucks coming down the street and everything. i seen the fire, the smoke, the tower and everything burning then a couple of booms and bangs, the next thing you know, the tower went down. >> back live with another look at the church here, no reports of any injuries but the fire department is very concerned about the stability of the building. right now the fire contai

want to get to breaking news on staten island where a huge fire inside a church is taking place on delafield avenue. tracie strahan is there. we understand you just got an update from fire officials on the scene. >> reporter: we have, michael. as stay start they start to pack up the hoses here, we have learned that this three-alarm fire has been deemed suspicious. let's show you video of the heavy volume of fire that greeted 150 firefighters when they arrived just after 2:00 this morning. according to the fire chief, it's that volume of fire that raised a lot of suspicion so far. that's why the fire marshals have arrived on the scene. let's show you some video now of the scene when we arrived. 150 firefighters trying to tackle flames that tore through the roof of this church, even causing the steeple to collapse. this is a church that's actually been unoccupied for a year, but the chief told us that the weather conditions in this case helped a lot. take a listen. >> we just took it upon ourselves to, you know, let neighbors know that it's raining fire. let's leave. >> actually, the rain and

just after 2:00 this morning, the three-alarm fire roared through the house of miracle church on delafield avenue in west brighton. 150 firefighters responded to the empty church which had gone unused for the past year. one firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling the flames. arrival. extremely heavy amount of fire on arrival. this is an indicator of a suspicious fire. >> the fire caused the church to collapse. the structure is considered a total loss. >>> manhattanville college in westchester county said one of its positive for legionella bacteria and will be disinfected. the school in purchase said no cases of legionnaires have been record. meanwhile, in the bronx, 7 cooling towers tested positive. the towers are in morris park, the section where health officials identified a cluster of 10 new legionnaires cases. >>> during pope francis' whirlwind trip to the united states, attorneys for county clerk says the pontiff made time for a private meeting to talk to her about her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. the vatican confirmed that. kim davis provided a p

. >> reporter: here on delafield street, johnson, peele, gross, stevenson and his brother surrounded a group of four in what police say was an unprovoked attack lashed out, even breaking a student's jaw. >> kids get rowdy. if you put yourself in that situation, you should be ready to bear the consequences for it. investigation, just friday police searched a home not far from campus. inside they found 93 grams of marijuana, a stun gun and more than $35,000 in cash. the suspect that lived there, jianna chen. the 19-year-old helped plan the attempted robbery in the dorm. for now live in piscataway, kemberly richardson, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. >>> we want to take you back to the breaking news that we have been following. a small plane crash in cresskill, new jersey. this is happening right now. there was a call that came in that this pilot said that they had problems with their engine. there was engine failure. clearly tried to make a landing here but it did not happen. >> the crash happening at third and mag joule that -- magnolia street across from the cresskill swim c