Officials say flames broke out at around 3 a.m. in the building on Buckingham Road.
As flames poured out the windows, there was no chance of saving the structure, so for Yonkers firefighters the goal was to prevent the fire from spreading to the church attached to it.
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Firefighters kept the fire from extending to the St. George Orthodox Church nearby. About 70 to 80 firefighters fought the blaze from the outside for a couple hours and the roof partially collapsed.
The property was purchased this year to establish a house of worship for a community of Jordanian Greek Orthodox Christians who until recently had been using another church in Rye.
The church was under renovation and officials believe the construction may have sparked the flames. The main sanctuary was about a week away from opening.
Authorities say the building that burned was vacant and was used Sundays as the temporary church for bible study classes and for storage.
The goal for the congregation now is to have the renovations in the main sanctuary complete in time for Christmas services.
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