Latest Ala. Church Fire Accidental, Officials Look for Arson Link in 2 Others

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Alabama investigators said a blaze that gutted a Blount County church on Tuesday was an accident, but they are still trying to determine whether there was a link between two church fires in Chilton County.

Flames burned through the roof of the Cleveland Church of God, but the brick exterior of the building remained standing after the fire was extinguished. Officials said firefighters were called to the fire about 9 a.m., and it didn’t take long to determine the cause was accidental.

“There were combustibles left too close to a heating unit,” said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office.

Cleveland is located in Blount County about 40 miles northeast of Birmingham.

Meanwhile, authorities are investigating if there was a connection between two suspicious fires that occurred over two weeks in Chilton County, about halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery.

A fire that officials called suspicious destroyed Maple Springs Baptist Church on Dec. 29, and Providence No. 1 Baptist Church was leveled by a fire that occurred last week during what authorities described as an apparent arson and burglary.

No arrests have been made, and Sheriff Kevin Davis said investigators were unsure whether there was a link between the two fires. They also are trying to determine if either fire is linked to a string of four church burglaries that occurred in Chilton County over two months.

Authorities arrested two men on Jan. 6 in a string of arsons and burglaries at four churches in east Alabama around the New Year. The men, described by investigators as satan worshippers, pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.

Three former Birmingham college students are serving prison terms in connection with nine church arsons that drew national news interest in February 2006.