MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Flames lit up a church steeple near Milwaukee's airport when it was hit by lightning as a storm moved through the area late Thursday afternoon.

The burning steeple of St. Stephen Catholic Church sent flames and smoke into the sky.

Battalion Fire Chief Joe Robak says lightning set the steeple on fire, but the blaze did not extend into the church itself, although the 150-year-old building had water damage.

As for the steeple, only a charred skeleton remained after the blaze.

Firefighters had to use their "water tower" equipment off a ladder truck to get water onto the steeple. A mobile firefighting unit from nearby Mitchell International Airport was unable to get water that high.

The chief says one firefighter had minor injuries, but no one else was hurt.