January 9, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Local Church Catches Potential Fire

Members of the Sunrise Baptist Church at 3220 Lakeshore Drive called the fire department after noticing thick smoke filling up their building. Fire officials received a call from the church at 3:34 p.m. this afternoon reporting the smoke. Moments later as a host of fire trucks converged in the church parking lot, officials there evacuated the premises. Once inside firefighters traced the origin of the smoke to a heating and air conditioning unit.

Upon close inspection, fire crews discovered that it wasn’t the unit that was smoking but the insulation around it. When questioned, church officials stated that someone had come to repair the air unit this morning and had used a welding torch in completing some of the work. On scene fire officials say the sparks, some of which can be undetectable, from that torch apparently got into the insulation causing the conditions.

Large fans were brought in to remove the smoke from the building. "The conditions presented for a potential catastrophe, if gone unchecked, eventually the insulation would have caught fire," says department spokesman Brian Crawford. No injuries were reported by civilians or firefighters. The official cause of the fire is under investigation by the prevention bureau of the fire department.

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