KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Earlier Thursday morning, the Knoxville Fire Department responded to two fires within 10 minutes.

At 1:07 a.m., there was a call to the Knox County Emergency Communications Center for smoke in the Beaumont Avenue and McSpadden Street area. According to KFD, the caller said they could see smoke coming from the church at the intersection.

When KFD arrived, the companies began working to extinguish the fire with flames and smoke coming from the basement in the rear. The first companies tried to stop the fire from the interior of the building. However, due to the heavy fire, the crew was pulled from the structure. Crews fought the fire from the exterior of the building.

By 3:02 a.m., the fire was deemed under control, and the majority of KFD had cleared the scene by 4:00 a.m. No injuries were reported and the building is a total loss.

KFD said that it is unknown if the church was still in use or has been vacated. A release from the fire department added that they believed several people were illegally occupying the basement.

As crews were fighting the fire on Beaumont Ave, there was an emergency call at 1:10 a.m. for a house fire along West Baxter. When crews arrived, they were able to extinguish the fire quickly. The home did suffer heavy fire damage, but no injuries were reported.

KFD added that “the home appeared vacant but was occupied by people not authorized to be in the structure.” The structure also did not have power or utilities.

The causes of both fires are still under investigation.