A historic Catholic church in Eastern Baltimore County was damaged in a fire Tuesday, according to fire department officials.

Crews responded to St. Rita’s Church in the 2900 block of Dunleer Road in Dundalk around 2:45 p.m. Once on the scene, officials said heavy fire was coming from the building.

The fire was under control by 3:40 p.m., and no injuries were reported, according to Baltimore County Fire Chief Joe Dixon. One firefighter was treated on scene for heat exhaustion.

The fire at St. Rita’s Church caused damage to the steeple of the historic building.

Witnesses told WJZ that the fire may have been caused by lightning; however, Dixon said that could not be confirmed.

“Of course, it could have been a lightning strike, but that is something that we cannot confirm. There [are] reports of lightning, we’ve seen lightning in the area, but we would never say that’s what it was without an investigation,” Dixon said.

In a social media post, St. Rita’s thanked the fire department and the local community for the quick response.

The archdiocese said in a statement Wednesday: “There was a fire at St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Dundalk yesterday during the big storm that rolled through our area. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but the initial investigation shows that the building was likely struck by lightning. Baltimore County Firefighters responded in a swift manner and put out the flames but the building still experienced damage. Mostly in the front section and steeple tower.”

Yonatan Mendoza, a witness who called 911, told WJZ that he saw the fire after leaving a mosque located across the street from the church.

“We are so appreciative of the many thoughts and prayers from our parishioners, the local community, fellow Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, and our neighbors from the Masjid Quba, who also contacted us to alert us to the fire,” church leaders said.

St. Rita’s was established in 1922, according to the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Catholic church was one of several that were part of a consolidation plan in December. The archdiocese’s “Seek the City to Come” plan consolidated 61 parishes into 30 worship sites.

The parish merged with Our Lady of Hope, St. Luke and Sacred Heart of Mary, though the St. Rita’s Church building still serves as an additional worship site.

St. Rita was to hold a community mass at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Hope-St. Luke School Hall. The regularly scheduled 10 a.m. Sunday Mass will be held at Our Lady of Hope, the archdiocese said.

Banner reporter Céilí Doyle contributed to this report.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner.