State & Federal Officials Join Investigation of Suspicious Bradley County Church Fire

A Bradley County congregation is devastated this evening after their building is destroyed by what investigators call a suspicious fire...

Thompson Springs Baptist Church caught fire early Thursday.

Neighbor David Epperson says, "Come to the side door and couldn't see nothing but smoke."

Epperson describes the early morning haze surrounding Thompson Springs Baptist Church.

He awoke to sirens around 3:30 Thursday morning and realized his neighborhood church was on fire, "Thirty minutes later you could see the flames going higher than the trees."

When fire fighters arrived the church was already engulfed.

Bradley County Fire and Rescue Chief Dewey Woody says, "The fire was in the attic and it did move rapidly throughout the structure. We'll call the structure a total loss, but we did protect the exposure."

The church was in the middle of a building program... Firefighters saved the partially constructed new sanctuary.

Pastor Joe White says, "The men of the fire department were able to put a barrier between it and the building that was burning so we're thankful for that and their hard work."

Damage to the old sanctuary was so severe the roof collapsed... Iinvestigators are still looking for a cause.

Chief Woody says, "I'll call it suspicious at this time, but there's nothing right now. This is gonna take a while to determine what the cause was."

For now State Bomb and Arson teams and AFT agents are sifting through the rubble...And the congregation is moving ahead...

Pastor White says, "We'll move forward from here. We trust the Lord for our eternity, we'll trust Him for the here and now."

Pastor White says the congregation has not yet found a meeting place for Sunday services.