01/14/2007

Associated Press

Police and sheriff's deputies rushed to check on churches throughout Pitt County early Sunday after fires struck two Baptist churches and a break-in was discovered at a third, authorities said.

Police stopped short of calling the fires at The Memorial Baptist Church and Unity Free Will Baptist Church the result of arson.

But the state Bureau of Investigation, along with Greenville officials and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, planned to begin an investigation later Sunday morning.

"Anytime you have two fires like that in succession, it's certainly a suspicious fire," said Greenville Fire Department Battalion Chief Sandy Harris.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries, and authorities said their search found no signs of fires at any other church. Greenville, a town of 55,000, is about 75 miles east of Raleigh. Authorities planned a 10 a.m. news conference Sunday to provide an update on the investigation.

The worst fire hit The Memorial. Firefighters were called to the church shortly after 11 p.m. to find smoke billowing from the church's educational wing, and the blaze soon spread to the church's original structure.

Harris said shortly after 2:30 a.m. that firefighters had largely contained the fire, but were still working to extinguish hot spots. About half of the church appeared to be destroyed, although Harris said the main sanctuary appeared undamaged.

The church's steeple remained standing, he said, but firefighters were worried about its stability.

Dispatchers received a report of a fire at Unity Free Will Baptist Church, about a half-mile away from The Memorial, shortly before 11:30 p.m. Authorities said damage there was contained to a few rooms.

"Right now, I'm numb," said Jeff Manning, minister at Unity Free Will Baptist Church. "My head is spinning. We will have to figure out what to do, and at the same time, our heart goes out to the good folks at Memorial Baptist because there's is a whole lot worse than ours."

Police were also investigating a break-in at Oakmont Baptist Church, located less than a quarter-mile from The Memorial, said Greenville police Cpl. Kip Gaskins. Witnesses told The Daily Reflector of Greenville that the tires of three church vehicles at The Memorial were slashed.

"At this point we're still collecting evidence. However, we have all these churches set on fire minutes apart from each other, so you can take that for what it is worth," Gaskins said.