Police Investigate N.C. Church Fires

Police Investigate N.C. Church Fires
By Mike Baker
Associated Press Writer
January 14, 2007

CBNNews.com - GREENVILLE, N.C. - Police increased their patrols of churches Sunday after fires broke out at two Baptist churches during the night and a break-in was discovered at a third.

Watch footage of firefighters at the scene.

"We're going to be highly visible at our churches," Greenville Police Chief William Anderson said Sunday.

Authorities stopped short of saying the fires were arson, but Fire Chief Mike Burton said that, given the size of one of the blazes, investigators were treating it as a crime scene.

"Most of the accidental causes would not have that rapid of a buildup," Burton said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, and authorities said they found no signs of fires at any other church in Greenville, which is about 75 miles east of Raleigh.

The state Bureau of Investigation, along with Greenville officials and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were working Sunday to determine the cause and origin of the fires.

Both fires and the break-in were reported between 10:37 p.m. and 11:31 p.m. Saturday.

Firefighters sent to The Memorial Baptist Church found smoke billowing from its educational wing, and flames soon spread to the church's original structure.

Police said witnesses reported seeing a person fleeing from The Memorial in a white vehicle shortly after the fire broke out. The tires of three church vehicles were slashed.

Damage was estimated at $1 million, Burton said. The main sanctuary appeared undamaged and the steeple was standing, but firefighters were worried about its stability, authorities said. ...
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