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    The blue-domed cathedral, St.Petersburg's fourth highest building, boasted arguably Europe's largest wooden cupolas. The central dome collapsed and one of four smaller cupolas surrounding it was also destroyed by the blaze.

    The fire broke out at approximately 5.30 p.m. more then 30 meters above the ground.

    The cathedral's head cleric, Father Konstantin, told reporters that a service was being held when the visitors noticed the fire.

    The cathedral was undergoing renovations and the wooden domes were clad in wooden scaffolding. The flames spread instantly over the scaffolding surrounding the cupolas.

    'Despite the growing fire, the parishioners stayed to help carry icons, utensils and other devotional objects out of the cathedral engulfed in flames,' the priest told reporters Saturday. All icons and devotional objects were removed by church staff, parishioners and emergency workers. The most precious item inside the church was a 15th-century icon presented to the cathedral by President Vladimir Putin. This icon, along with seven other valuable ones, has been sent into temporary storage. The rest of the items were handed over - also temporarily - to the Alexander Nevsky monastery.

    The fire covered 1800 square meters, said the head of St.Petersburg branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry. The height of the fire outbreak on the 80-meter building made it difficult for the firefighters to put it out. Firefighters requested a helicopter but it arrived too late to save the central dome.

    The municipal authorities will fully fund the cathedral's restoration and vowed it will be completed in a year.

    The cathedral has been under renovation for the past several years, and its large wooden domes were especially vulnerable to fire.

    St.Petersburg's Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal case and an investigation is in progress. The cause of the accident remains unknown but it is believed the fire was caused by violation of fire-safety rules.

The Holy Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral, sometimes known as Trinity Cathedral, was designed by architect Vassily Stassov and built in 1835. It was the regiment cathedral of Izmailovsky Regiment in Russia's Imperial Army.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution the cathedral was closed for religious services and turned into a warehouse.
It remained a warehouse throughout the Soviet period until the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and religious activities were resumed in 1990.