Accidental Fire Occurs At Church In Bethel

By Marlana Smith

 

The Bethel Christian Church located at 237 Main Street, in Bethel, caught fire on Tuesday morning, August 6.

According to Shelby Community Fire Department Captain, Corey Cooper, they received the call at 7:08 a.m., and when arriving a flame that was about a foot tall was coming out of the rafters, but on the inside. After approximately 20 minutes the fire was contained.

The BCC has been under construction and the fire started in the new part of their facility. Cooper said the fire started in the southeast part of the new edition under the installation.

The church sustained moderate smoke damage and minor fire damage.

Traffic was down to one lane for approximately four hours.

Larry Smoot, who is on the church board said originally, they were planning for the renovations to be completed by November 1, 2019.

Cooper said, “The fire is currently still under investigation, but preliminary investigations show the cause of the fire to be accidental.”

The SCFD was assisted by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, Salt River Ambulance District, and the Missouri State Fire Marshal.