Category Archives: Place of Worship

Other Business, Place of Worship

Fitchburg, MA – Fire sprinklers stop fire from spreading after pipe organ catches fire in church; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system and the hard work of firefighters and a very large fan spared much of a Fitchburg church Monday afternoon when an electrical issue in a pipe organ sparked a fire, according to firefighters.

Deputy Chief Chad Courtemanche said crews were called to the Emanuel Lutheran Church a little after 3 p.m., on an alarm call after the alarm system detected sprinkler flow.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke in the building and soon learned the fire in the pipe organ was being held in check by sprinklers, Courtemanche said.

As a result of the sprinklers, “the fire was burning slow and creating a lot of smoke, so we vented the smoke and put out the fire,” Courtemanche said.

There were no reported injuries.

Crews used a large, truck-mounted ventilation fan designed for large buildings to vent a large amount of smoke from the church. Courtemanche said damage appeared to be light, under the circumstances, with fire damage confined mostly to the organ, and mostly just smoke and water damage elsewhere.

He said much of the wooden church, and even some books not far from the blaze, appeared to have suffered minimal damage.

Pastor Daniel W. Spigelmyer Jr., said the pipe organ is about 150 years old, and is a major sentimental and historical loss for the church.

Crews remained at the scene for about two hours.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Ocean City, NJ – Fire sprinklers keep fire in check at Ocean City Tabernacle overnight

Social distancing played a role in the fast response and prevention of a potentially serious fire at the Ocean City Tabernacle early Thursday morning.

In the pre-dawn hours, the ballast of a fluorescent lamp apparently overheated and ignited a small fire, according to Tabernacle Pastor Jay Reimer.

The incident occurred in a storage area near the gymnasium at approximately 4:40 a.m., Ocean City Fire Department Chief Jim Smith said.

The mechanism of the light fell to the ground, causing a nearby box of basketballs and other sports equipment to begin smoldering and ignite a small fire.

This in turn set off the smoke detector, as well as the fire alarm at the Tabernacle, located at 550 Wesley Avenue.

“We were very fortunate,” Reimer said. “As you may know, we had some firefighters staying with us, and they took care of it before (the situation escalated).”

In the “old normal” pre-coronavirus pandemic days, a crew of eight firefighters would have been living in close quarters at the Fire Department Headquarters building across Asbury Avenue from the Tabernacle grounds.

Because of social distancing concerns during the pandemic, however, the bunk room beds have been spread out, and three members of the eight-man crew were staying overnight at the Tabernacle, as they have since March 27.

“We’re very thankful to the Tabernacle to open its doors to us,” said Smith. “It’s probably a blessing in disguise they were there. As usual, our guys did a great job.”

Smith said the OCFD members “found smoke and fire” when they arrived at the storage area and that the Tabernacle’s sprinkler system had “held the fire in check” up to that point. The firefighters connected a hose and quickly extinguished the small fire, Smith said.

“They had to stretch the hose out and put the fire out,” he said. “There was minimum damage from the water.”

Had the firefighters not been on site, the outcome could have been entirely different, he added.

“It was fortunate our guys were there to address the fire before (they left for the night) and came back from across the street,” Smith said.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Sacramento, CA – Fire sprinklers keep arson church fire from spreading

Two Sacramento-area churches were damaged late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning in fires believed to be started by an arsonist.

The first fire was reported at 11:56 p.m. at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at 14th Avenue.

Several windows were kicked in at the church and fire was set to an administrative office and library.

“It’s wasteful, that’s what it is. Somebody that don’t got nothing to do and the devil is busy nowadays. We was fortunate it’s just this amount of damage,” said church trustee and head of maintenance Richard Heidelberg.

A fire sprinkler system kept the blaze from spreading but caused major water damage in several offices.

“We have a lot of water damage and just two places with smoke damage, but all of our offices in our administration wing, all those are flooded out and the carpet and everything and down the hallway into finance and then it started into the church but it stopped,” said Heidelberg.

One firefighter suffered moderate burns during the initial fire attack and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

As firefighters were battling the blaze, an arson investigator en route to the call spotted a suspicious person and ultimately made an arrest.

They believe that suspect is responsible for both church fires.

While it will take major restoration and construction to get the Central International Church open, Heidelberg is confident his Baptist church will be back in service on Sunday.

“A lot of work to do, a lot of work to do. We’ll be back running for Sunday, that’s a guarantee,” he said.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Easton, MA – Fire sprinklers keep fire at bay after candles set advent wreath on fire; No injuries reported

A candle-lit wreath caught fire Monday morning, triggering an evacuation at the Museum of Family Prayer at the Father Peyton Center.

An evergreen Advent wreath, which was inside the museum’s chapel, ignited shortly after multiple candles were lit on candle holders within the center of the wreath, Fire Chief Kevin Partridge said in a press release. The wreath was located near the altar and three people were inside the chapel at the time of the fire.

The Easton Fire Department received an alarm around 11:15 a.m. and a 911 call reporting a fire inside the chapel at the museum at 518 Washington St.

Upon arrival of firefighters, the building had been evacuated and the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system and a maintenance worker who used a fire extinguisher, according to Partridge.

No injuries were reported.

Once the fire started, the sprinkler system in the chapel activated and a maintenance worker heard people yelling about a fire and grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to help put out the flames, Partridge said.

Firefighters arrived minutes later and shut down the sprinkler system and helped to carry wet furniture and other items out of the chapel.

The fire was contained to the wreath, but the chapel had a significant amount of water inside from the sprinkler, Partridge said. Firefighters used wet-vacs to remove as much of the water from the floor as they could before clearing the scene at approximately 12:20 p.m.

The chapel will be closed temporarily until the water can be completely dried.

“Thankfully the sprinkler system activated and kept the fire at bay and the maintenance worker sprung into action prior to our arrival,” Partridge said, “We are glad that no one was hurt and this incident should serve as a reminder that evergreen is extremely flammable and should never be kept near an open flame. Many churches use Advent wreaths this time of year, but we recommend that they use fake wreaths and keep a close eye on any candles with open flames.”

Partridge also reminded residents to regularly water their Christmas trees and to keep them away from any heat sources or open flames.

In addition, Chief Partridge would like to share some candle safety tips from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services:

Burn candles within a 1 foot circle free of anything that can burn.

Before you leave a room or the house, blow out candles. Never leave candles burning unattended.

Always extinguish candles after use.

Use a non-combustible saucer or candle holder.

Keep candles out of reach of children and pets.

To be safe, consider using flameless candles. Have flashlights and battery-powered lighting ready to use during a power outage instead of candles.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Longmont, CO – Early morning suspected arson fire at local church controlled by sprinkler system

An arson investigation is underway after police say a man broke into a historic church in Longmont and set it on fire.

Police say a man broke into the CENTRAL Longmont Presbyterian Church on Kimbark Street at 5:40 a.m. on Sunday. Fire investigators say suspect used accelerant to start the fire. The fire caused more than $5,000 in damage, but the alleged perpetrator was caught on camera.

As the sun filtered through the trees along Kimbark Street Sunday, the sound of mallets tapping lightly on a table could heard in a peaceful rhythm.

“The weather is beautiful today,” Carol Duarte with the Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band said.

The Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band was holding an outdoor lesson, after police say a man set fire to the church where they hold practice.

“Any time anybody is disrespectful or vandalizes someone else’s property it’s a sad thing,” Duarte said.

In the surveillance video a man can be seen peering into the glass door, near the Recovery Café area of the church. Then he readjusts his scarf to cover his face and that’s when police say he broke in.

“Like all our faith communities, they do incredible work in our community all the time. So it breaks our heart when our churches get targeted,” Jeff Satur, Longmont Deputy Chief, said.

Police said the suspect poured an accelerant on the floor, that some said smelled like gasoline, and took off. Officers credit the sprinkler system and fire crews for their quick response.

The church, which was built in 1905, suffered extensive damage. The band members said they will continue to improvise and have confidence the church community will be resilient.

“It’s a very vibrant church with a lot of programs that a lot of people benefit from,” Duarte said.

Police are hopeful someone will recognize the man in the video and help them make an arrest. If you have any information, call Longmont Police Dispatch at 303-651-8501.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Puyallup, WA – External fire sprinklers contain fire before it reaches interior of building; No injuries reported

 Federal agents and the Pierce County Fire Marshal are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out early Tuesday outside a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Puyallup.

Jason Chudy of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said there are indications the blaze may be linked to a series of previous arsons last year at Kingdom Hall churches in Thurston County.

The Puyallup fire broke out at about 2 a.m. Tuesday just outside the Kingdom Hall in the 11500 block of 62nd Avenue East.

The blaze was mostly extinguished by an exterior sprinkler system before it could reach the interior of the building, said a Central Pierce Fire & Rescue spokesperson. The blaze left scorch marks and damage on an exterior wall.

The damage would have been much more extensive if not for the sprinkler system, Chudy said.

“It saved the assembly hall a lot of damage,” he said. “We were very thankful there were sprinklers on scene.”

No one was injured.

Chudy said the fire looked “very similar” to five fires that were deliberately set at Kingdom Halls in Thurston County last year, destroying two of them. One church also was struck by gunfire in a sixth incident that caused $10,000 in damage.

“So even though at this point we can’t conclusively tie this to the other ones, the similarities lead us to believe it is at least possibly tied,” Chudy said. “So we believe this very well could have been potentially set in an attempt to burn the building down.”

He said law enforcement officials hope to catch the arsonist responsible before more damage is done or someone is hurt.

“We want this person or persons off the street as quickly as possible,” he said.

Place of Worship

Cedar City, UT – Kitchen fire in LDS chapel is “mostly extinguished” by automatic sprinkler system

The fire department was called out around 4:40 p.m. by an alarm company that notified dispatch that the inside sprinklers had been activated in an LDS chapel located on 3800 West Cody Drive.  “We get false alarms all the time,” Phillips said. “But this time, it was that the sprinklers had gone off, so it was either that one of the sprinklers broke or there was a fire, and we haven’t had enough cold days for the pipes to freeze. So, when I got here I circled the building, did my 360 and there wasn’t any smoke. Then I gained access inside and there was the smoke.”  The sprinklers largely extinguished the flames before crews even arrived on scene.  “The sprinklers did exactly what they were supposed to do. They keep the fire in check until we get there and put it out,” Phillips said. “There was a little bit of smoldering that the crews had to deal with but that’s it.”  The fire originated in the kitchen, but the cause is still under investigation.

Place of Worship

Federal Way, WA – Church fire cause by cigarette discarded in mulch controlled by sprinkler system

A Tuesday morning fire at Brooklake Church caused an estimated $150,000 worth of damage to the exterior of the building.  South King Fire & Rescue Captain Jeff Bellinghausen said there was no damage to the inside of the building, 629 S. 356th St.  The fire was most likely caused by a cigarette butt left on the bark outside the church, Bellinghausen said. The fire was determined to be accidental, he said.  The awning over the entrance to the church caught fire, and the sprinkler system was able to keep the fire contained until the firefighters could get there, Bellinghausen said.  The carpet inside may need to be replaced from possible smoke damage, and repairs are needed in the entrance area, but there was no severe fire damage inside, Bellinghausen said. The church is still in operation.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Killeen, TX – Early morning church fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

An early morning fire at Lifeway Fellowship Church in Killeen led to Sunday worship services being canceled, as fire, smoke and water damage forced church staff to close the building.

“The alarm went off at 4 a.m., so no one was in the building, luckily,” Pastor Jimmy Towers said. “According to the (Killeen) Fire Department, there was an electrical shortage in the walls and that caught the insulation on fire.”

Towers said while the fire was mostly contained to the back of the church building, the sprinkler system led to most of the floor of the building being flooded.

“The sprinkler system didn’t really damage the furniture, it just flooded the floors,” he said. “We have people there right now working to clean it up, and we have the doors open to try and get the smoke out.”

Towers said he received a call about the fire shortly after 4 a.m. He said by the time he arrived at the church, the fire department already had the fire under control.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with how the fire department handled the blaze,” he said. “They got it under control very quickly.

Despite canceling the Sunday services, Towers said the church members who didn’t get the message about the fire still held a small prayer circle in the parking lot at 8 a.m.

Towers is not sure when the building will reopen, but said he hopes to have it ready for next Sunday’s services.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Nisswa, MN – Sprinkler system tackles kitchen fire at Timberwood Church

Timberwood Church did not go up in flames thanks to a sprinkler system that put out a kitchen fire at the Nisswa place of worship in the early morning hours of Friday, April 20.

No one was in the building, which is along Highway 371, at about 9 a.m. when the Nisswa Fire Department responded and the Brainerd Fire Department was contacted for mutual aid, but not needed.

“There was a fire alarm that went through our alarm company to the Nisswa Fire Department … and they discovered smoke in the building,” said the Rev. John Just, pastor of the church.

“My understanding is Brainerd Fire also had two vehicles that responded, but were canceled before they arrived on site.”

The self-described “Bible-based, outreach-oriented church” is nestled among the trees near Gull Lake and located about 20 minutes north of Brainerd in Crow Wing County.

“It looked like the building was full of smoke,” Just said after arriving at the church. “It appears to have started on a stovetop.”

Nisswa Fire Chief Shawn Bailey was on the scene and said firefighters upon their arrival discovered a small kitchen fire that was already put out.

“The sprinkler system had activated and put the fire out. We gained entry through the end of the kitchen and from that point, we were able to verify where the fire was,” Bailey said.

Just said, “They found the water flowing out of the kitchen.”

Staff walked around barefoot inside the church as the water was being suctioned up from the carpet area by the kitchen.

In 2004, Timberwood Church’s first pastor was hired and began. The church’s first public worship service was scheduled for Easter of that same year, according to its website.

For five years, congregation members would meet at the Nisswa Community Center, and in 2009 the church relocated to its current location off Highway 371.

“There was really no structural damage to the building. We’ll need to do some water cleanup, and we will be open for services on Sunday morning at 9 and 10:30.”