Commissioner Bell: 10th Alabama Church Fire ‘Unrelated’ to Previous 9

It’s likely that the tenth fire at a the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church near the Mississippi line was started by an arsonist whose actions are totally unrelated those of the arsonists responsible for any of the other nine fires, according to Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter A. Bell. The commissioner said the latest fire does not fit into the same “pattern.”

“The latest fire at a Baptist Church last weekend doesn’t fit the same pattern as the other nine churches torched,” Bell told members of the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents during the group’s Feb. 16 Annual Legislative Conference in Montgomery, Ala.

All torched buildings were Baptist churches, the predominant religion in the southeast, and all fires were in rural locations.

Bell explained that nine of the church fires started inside the churches near the pulpit; while the tenth fire began outside the church. The latest fire was also the only one that was not set during pre-dawn hours.

Bell said the governor, the Fire Marshall, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agency and other law enforcement officers have been actively involved in attempts to apprehend the culprits. He said they are spending a lot of time following up on more than 300 leads.

Up to now, investigators have suspected the first nine fires were started by two white men in their 20s or 30s driving a sport utility vehicle. Some reports even indicate that one of the arsonists might have been trapped inside one of the churches.

Last week, Gov. Bob Riley, who also spoke at the AIIA event on Thursday, told The Associated Press that the nine earlier church fires appeared to be linked.

In five years there have been 59 church fires in Alabama, including the 10 reported in the last 10 days, and 19 were ruled arsons.

Bell said rewards of $100,000 are now being offered for information leading to the conviction of the perpetrators, and that Alfa Insurance, as part of its policies, offers an additional $7,500 reward.

Topics Alabama Church