TERRELL, Texas — A chain of events beginning two months ago led to the Faith Fellowship Church of The Nazarene in Terrell, Texas, being heavily damaged by a fire on Friday afternoon.
TERRELL, Texas — A chain of events beginning two months ago led to the Faith Fellowship Church of The Nazarene in Terrell, Texas, being heavily damaged by a fire on Friday afternoon.
The church had two air conditioning units on the backside of the building stolen approximately two months ago, Terrell Fire Department Fire Marshal Tom Cooper told inForney.com. While those units were being replaced, Cooper says, two separate fires, including today’s, had been reported at the church.
Today, at approximately 3:10 p.m., the Terrell Fire Department was notified about a fire in the church’s attic. Firefighters from the Terrell Fire Department, the Terrell Volunteer Fire Department, the Forney Fire Department, and the Kaufman Fire Department arrived and extinguished the fire — containing it to the east side of the building and sparing the sanctuary.
Cooper says the fire originated near the rear of the building where an air conditioning technician was working to replace the air conditioning units. The technician was soldering freon lines which conducted heat into the interior of the building and sparking a fiber board-like material insulation on fire.
The fire quickly spread into the attic where firefighters had to battle through several different small storage rooms, stated Cooper. The fire heavily damaged portions of the east side of the building and also resulted in smoke damage throughout the building. Cooper estimated the church sustained $150,000 to $250,000 worth of damages.
The Tyler-based contractor working on the air conditioning units was working without a permit, according to Cooper.
In April, the same contractor sparked a fire just six feet away from today’s origin while doing similar soldering work, stated Cooper.
Cooper said the contractor attempted a different method of soldering today which included the use of a heat shield and water to saturate the insulation. Cooper classified the fire as accidental stating the insulation’s construction and materials may be a factor in the fire.
The church’s phone has been disconnected, according to the church’s Facebook page which contains contact information for its members concerning upcoming church services.