Doorbell cam video shows lightning strike before former historic Richmond church goes up in flames

RICHMOND, Va. — A neighbor's doorbell camera captured a bolt of lightning and an ear-splitting crack of thunder just before 5:55 p.m. Sunday — and about 15 minutes later, that same camera showed visible fire at the former Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood.

CBS 6 obtained the video from the neighbor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. She said she turned the footage over to fire investigators Sunday.

Richmond Fire and Emergency Services Chief Jeffrey Segal previously said witnesses reported lightning strikes in the area, but the official cause of the fire has not been determined. The investigation remains ongoing.

Richmond Fire units responded to the former Good Shepherd Baptist Church in the 1100 block of North 28th Street around 6:15 p.m. Crews were on scene within a minute and a half, arriving to find heavy fire conditions and heavy smoke throughout the building.

WTVR

Neighbor Coleman Lucado said the fire grew quickly and the smoke was visible from across the James River.

"The rain started. We heard an extremely loud snap of lightning essentially," Lucado said. "All of a sudden we saw a little bit of smoke building and then all of a sudden from our house we just saw flames erupting from behind our buildings."

Despite the intensity of the blaze and the dangerous conditions of fighting a fire in rain and lightning, crews kept the flames from spreading to neighboring homes.

"Due to great decision-making and excellent firefighting, they were able to put a knock on the fire as soon as possible and save the structures — the homes next door," Segal said.

Richmond NAACP President James "J.J." Minor praised the response.

"They fought this fire on the knees, in the air, while it was thundering and lightning. I've never witnessed anything like that in my entire life," Minor said. "They are the heroes. This is an example of what heroism is."

A community mourns

The fire destroyed a building that had served as a cornerstone of Church Hill and played a pivotal role in Richmond's civil rights movement for decades.

The former Good Shepherd Baptist Church was led by Reverend Dr. Paul Nichols from 1961 to 1990. Under his leadership, the church became a hub for civil rights activism, where faith leaders organized, mentored and worked alongside the community to advance equality during some of Richmond's most pivotal moments.

Reverend Dr. Sylvester T. Smith, the current pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, said seeing the building destroyed was devastating.

"To see everything going up in flames was disheartening, to say the least," Smith said.

Smith's connection to Good Shepherd began decades before he became pastor. Reverend Nichols recruited Smith to attend seminary at Virginia Union and mentored him as a young minister. Years later, Smith returned to lead the same congregation, which has since relocated across the street from the burned building.

"We cannot forget where we came from, because if we do, we are doomed to repeat it," Smith said.

Brenda Nichols, a member and former first lady of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, said the loss is deeply personal. She was married inside the same sanctuary that now lies in ruins in 1964, and three of her daughters were baptized there.

"It's just a part of — for me — sad, because it's a part of history that even though we have pictures, the actual building itself has been erased," Nichols said.

WATCH: Congregation vows to preserve legacy of historic Good Shepherd Baptist Church

Nichols said her late husband helped calm tensions in Richmond following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and worked alongside other faith leaders to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to present to Richmond City Council in support of renaming a city building for King — an effort that was ultimately successful.

"They stayed active and continued to do so with everything else that was going on to bridge gaps with our relationships with the Black and white community," Nichols said.

Despite the physical loss, Nichols said the church's legacy endures.

"This building is no longer here, but the members, the ministries, and the programs that it births and that it housed goes far beyond anything else imaginable to give leadership in African American communities," Nichols said.

Minor said the community had been working toward placing a historical marker on the building — an effort that will now take on new meaning.

"It feels like something is now gone from us. It was a beacon of hope and a beacon of light for our community, especially during the civil rights movement," Minor said.

Church leaders say the fire will not slow efforts to preserve the history of the former church.

"Generations yet unborn need to know that there was something special on that spot of ground," Smith said.

If you see breaking news, snap a photo or video and email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.