The heater caused a fire Incident destroyed a historic church on Albany’s South Sideresearchers said.

The fire broke out at Elijah Missionary Baptist Church last Thursday evening.

The church, built in the 1880s, is currently being demolished.

Investigators said there was hope that the church’s historic bell tower could be saved, but the damage was too extensive to save it.

The demolition, which started over the weekend, is expected to continue for another week.