(Updated) Fire Destroys Church

Does your church have smoke alarms and a sprinkler system?

Fire destroys Clayton County church  | ajc.com
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The below link has information provided by Clayton County Fire Department. This is the fire department that responded to the above mentioned fire that occurred this morning. I have been a fire fighter since high school and this is the first time I have ever seen a fire department who has information on their website directly related to fires at churches. I am not sure if Calvary Baptist Church in Morrow, GA had even received any of this information; however, it is a warning to all of us to take fire safety seriously.

UPDATE: 11/18/2009
"Investigators descovered traces of an accelerant that had been used," said Glenn Allen, spokesperson for Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine, whose arson investigators are coordinating the investigation. "We're looking for the public's help."

http://www.claytoncountyfiredepartment.com/churchfiresafety/index.htm

According to the United States Fire Administration:

~An average of 1,300 church fires are reported each year, causing $38 million in property loss.

~ The leading cause of church fires is arson (25%).

~ 30% of church fires are the result of mechanical failures. Faulty wiring and improperly functioning heating systems are often at fault, perhaps because they are in older structures and have not been brought up to local fire codes.

~ Of churches that reported fires, 65% had no smoke alarms and 96% had no sprinkler system.

That's me (yellow trim) putting out a fire in a 15 passenger van