August church fire blamed on wiring

32
City of Maricopa Fire crews suppressed a fire at the First Baptist Church on Aug. 20. It was determined to be accidental. Photo by Brittany Paige Anslow

A fire last month at First Baptist Church has been determined to be an accident caused by faulty wiring.

 

The report by investigator Chazz Dupree found the origin of the attic fire to be wiring between an air conditioning unit on the roof and an electrical junction box, likely causing the power source to overheat. A hole was burned in the front of the junction box.

 

The Aug. 20 fire was first spotted by an off-duty firefighter with Ak-Chin Fire Department who reported smoke coming from the attic at around 8:30 a.m. When the first unit arrived from Maricopa Fire Department’s Alterra station, only light smoke was visible from the west gable.

 

The building was empty and locked at the time, which was a Saturday morning. Firefighters breached glass doors on the west side and double doors in the courtyard to get inside.

 

A thermal imaging camera located the heat source – an electrical box on the attic ceiling.  There was heavy smoke in the west wing but no indication of fire in the rest of the building.

 

Damage caused by the fire was limited to the path of the wiring from the south wall of the attic toward the peak of the gable roof, approximately eight to 10 feet long and 12 to 16 inches wide, according to Dupree’s report.

 

There was also smoke damage in the attic, water damage in the attic and drywall damage to the west end of the building “where crews pulled drywall to access the fire area.”

 

First Baptist Church has been in Maricopa for 62 years. Since the fire and the damage in the sanctuary, the congregation has been meeting in a combined worship service on Sundays outside in a white tent.