SPENCER, Massachusetts: Spencer, Massachusetts Fire Chief Robert Parsons has said that a June 2 fire that burned down a 160-year-old town church was likely caused by a lightning strike.

The First Congregational Church in Spencer, central Massachusetts, some 10 miles west of Worcester, caught fire after a storm struck the area.

The fire caused the church's steeple to fall after it was engulfed in flames.

Parsons said the building was a total loss, but no injuries were reported in the fire, which drew nearly 100 firefighters from some 20 departments.

There has been a church in the area since the 1700s. A church on the site was also lost to fire in 1862.