Contra Costa County Fire Protection District crews on Friday began sifting through the rubble from a church building that burned down in Concord a day earlier but have yet to determine what sparked the blaze, a spokesman said.
Firefighters initially responded at 5:32 a.m. Thursday to the two-alarm fire reported at a two-story building Christ Community Church of the Nazarene at 1650 Ashbury Drive near Clayton Road and Galindo Street and extinguished it about 40 minutes later.
The fire caused the roof to collapse and the second floor to collapse onto the first, so investigators could not enter the building until Friday after heavy construction equipment was brought in to make sure the structure would not collapse further, fire district spokesman Steve Hill said.
“It’s not an easy job digging through all those layers of rubble,” Hill said, adding that the district also brought out a cadaver dog to make sure no one was inside the building at the time of the fire.
He said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Janelle Maher, wrote on its Facebook page to thank the firefighters who responded to the blaze and other community members who have offered help.
“So many kind people reached out to check on us from our surrounding Concord community, friends and loved ones of our current congregation, and many of our former members,” Maher wrote. “We are so grateful for your support and prayers. We care deeply for our community as well, and look forward to providing the same support, care and compassion to you in your time of need.”
3 comments
Most likely the same serial arsonist who has been bouncing back and forth from Concord to Oakland for years now starting fires at Churches and construction sites for years now. Sometimes He will take a month or two break from His dirty deeds then it’s like He gets busy doing a few new ones then breaktime Authorities are very much aware of the fact We have a serial arsonist operating in Our mist who is responsible for a large number of the fires in Concord but are saying very little about it .Even with large rewards being offered in a couple of the large fires They have come up empty trying to capture Him In most of the fires there have been no deaths and few injuries Hopefully that continues to be the case and hopefully He slips up soon and they catch Him. Every Dog has His Day
I’m guessing some homeless idiots. They cause more fires, destruction, and litter than any other group of individuals that I’m aware of so now your Gov wants to throw more money at them. I see the word spreading very quickly on the homeless tele to make your way to the Golden State where you will be rewarded for doing nothing, getting high and drunk.
CONCORD, CALIF. – Investigation of Thursday morning’s fire at the Christ Community Church, 1650 Ashbury Drive in Concord has been completed less than 36 hours after the fire was extinguished. The investigative team has determined the area of origin of the fire and confirmed it was caused by human activity.
The fire originated in the crawlspace under the church in the vicinity of sleeping materials and other possessions belonging to someone temporarily sheltering under the structure without authorization. Investigators could not determine whether the fire was intentionally or accidentally set. All other possible ignition sources in the area of the fire were however eliminated.
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