Reports: Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Australia destroyed by fire

SALT LAKE CITY — Australian news outlets reported a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was destroyed in a fire early Monday.

Crews were called to the fire in Hebersham in west Sydney about 3 a.m. Monday (10 a.m. Mountain time Sunday), 9 News in Australia reported.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, the outlet reported.

Fire and Rescue NSW inspector Steve Perkins told the outlet firefighters were able to prevent the fire from reaching the chapel within the meetinghouse.

Photos show severe damage to a large portion of the building.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. ABC News in Australia reported a K-9 police unit was aiding.

The fire happened as the church's semiannual general conference, where church leaders speak to members worldwide from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, was underway.

It's the second major fire to affect a church meetinghouse since last Sunday. On Sept. 28, a gunman rammed his truck into a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Michigan and shot and killed four people, also setting the building on fire, before he was shot and killed by police.

Reports did not say whether arson is suspected in the fire at the church building in Australia.

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