MORRISVILLE, Pa. - A lit cigarette sparked the weekend church fire that sent three engines and a ladder here to hose down God's house.
"Someone left a cigarette at the edge of the wall," Morrisville Fire Co. Chief Tim Weiss said of Saturday night's blaze at the First Baptist Church on North Pennsylvania Avenue. "Fortunately someone saw the fire and ran to the ambulance crew across the street to report it. It could have been a lot worse."
Firefighters quickly dispatched at 8:37 p.m. to knock down the blaze. "Everyone did a great job," Weiss said, noting that no one was injured and that it took 10 minutes to place the fire under control. Firefighters also had pre-assistance as "someone hit it with a fire extinguisher before we got there," Weiss said.
About 15 members from an anonymous group were meeting inside the church when the fire erupted. Smoke started to spread inside the church, members said, but everyone was safely evacuated.
The fire damaged the church's rear outside wall. Group members and a resident who lives nextdoor to the church said they were happy firefighters knocked down the blaze before it could cause more serious damage. Fire officials don't know whose lit cigarette butt sparked the blaze. |
