Kansas City, MO – Sprinkler system extinguishes church arson fire set by racist vandal

Someone broke into a predominantly black church in south Kansas City early Sunday morning, starting a small fire and leaving the front doors and windows defaced with racist graffiti, according to law enforcement officials.  Members of Concord Fortress of Hope Church arrived in the morning to see the spray-painted graffiti, which included an ethnic slur directed at black people, the letters “KKK” and what appeared to be an attempt at making a swastika.

Inside the church, police found that someone had entered the building, broke into a vending machine and the church’s financial office, and lit a chair on fire.  The fire caused minimal damage before being extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, according to John Ham, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The ATF, which has jurisdiction over fires at houses of worship, is investigating the fire along with the Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson unit and investigators with the Kansas City Fire Department.  Kansas City Councilman Quinton Lucas tweeted out two photos of the graffiti, writing “Fools think they’re gonna keep us from worshiping this morning.

Lucas also tweeted out a photo of the services saying, “Racist Vandals and arsonists not slowing down 8 a.m. service @concordhope church.”

Kansas City police were called to the church shortly before 7 a.m. Federal investigators think the break-in occurred between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. and that whoever committed the break-in also made the graffiti.

If the investigation shows that the vandalism of the church was a hate crime, the FBI will get involved, said Ham, the ATF spokesman. But, he said, the hate crime designation depends on the motive and the true motive behind the damage to the church is unclear.

The fire was very small and did not appear likely to cause much damage, Ham said. Investigators suspect the incident began as a break-in, and the fire could have been meant to cover that up.

“To our fire investigators that are on the scene, it looks to us like a fire that somebody started sort of with what they had available to cover up perhaps the break-in,” Ham said. “It did not really have much to work with from a fire perspective. The sprinkler system in the office where it was set did its job, knocked the fire out very, very quickly.”

More damage was caused by water from the sprinkler system.

Fires at places of worship happen less frequently than they used to, Ham said, but have historically posed a potent threat because churches are often the focal point of a community.

“An attack on a church or an attack on a congregation is really an attack on everyone,” Ham said.

Investigators have not identified any suspects and are hoping to find surveillance video that could help. However, it’s unclear if all the security cameras in the church were working properly at the time of the break-in.

The ATF is offering a $5,000 reward for information about the incident. Anyone with information can call the ATF at 1-888-283-3473.

Concord Fortress of Hope Church is at 11050 Longview Parkway.

“It’s kind of a remote area, so if you were driving by early this morning or late last night and you saw something happening here, it probably wasn’t supposed to be,” Ham said. “Every little piece of information helps us.”

In a phone interview later, Councilman Lucas said he saw the graffiti as he arrived to attend services Sunday.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s a little disappointing to see something liked that in 2017. Folks should be able to come and worship without that sort of concern,” Lucas said. “We’ll keep praying and stay hopeful that this is the last time we have to see something like this with this church and that nobody else has to deal with it.”

Lucas said Pastor Ronald Lindsay said it well during the service when he told church members that they were not letting something negative define them.

“It ended up being an absolutely beautiful service,” Lucas said. “It reminded us how God exists in chaos and how we will basically continue on with the mission of the church.”

The church was founded in February 1987 when the Palestine Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ voted for Concord Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ to become an official organized church. The Rev. Ronald R. Lindsay was installed as the pastor, according to the church’s website.

After beginning at the YMCA at 63rd Street and Wornall Road, the church moved south to 107th Street in the Ruskin/Hickman Mills area. In 2006, the growing congregation moved to its current location.

Charlotte, NC – Arson fire in university residence hall limited by sprinkler system

A UNCC student has been arrested for starting a fire inside a residence hall on Wednesday afternoon.  UNCC Police say Kaci Stackhouse, 19, was arrested Friday and charged with first degree arson. She was transported to the Mecklenburg County Jail.  The fire was started in a suite in the Oak Residence Hall and caused only minor damage, thanks to the buildings sprinkler system, according to UNCC officials.

Montreal, QB, Canada – Overnight arson fire at business brought under control with help from sprinkler system

Montreal police are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out Saturday night in a commercial building in the Ahuntsic–Cartierville borough.  A fire alarm went off about 12:30 a.m., activating the sprinkler system in a business on Pontgravé St. The flames started near a trade entrance door but the fire was quickly brought under control with the sprinklers and the firefighters’ intervention.  A preliminary investigation suggests the fire was criminally set. When the fire department arrived, they noticed that the door was shattered, indicating arson, said police spokesperson Manuel Couture

Davis, CA – Sprinkler system controls fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Ten people were displaced from their apartments Saturday after a small fire activated the complex’s sprinkler system, according to the Davis Fire Department.  Division Chief Joe Tenney said crews responded at 10:30 a.m. to the Sharps & Flats Apartments, 1660 Drew Circle, where a small fire had broken out on a desk in an upper-floor bedroom. The fire broke a nearby window, sending smoke and flames outside as firefighters arrived on scene.

A fire sprinkler in the apartment controlled the blaze, but it also caused water damage to that unit and two others, Tenney said. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.  The Red Cross was summoned to assist those who were displaced by the incident.

Duncan, OK – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling potentially dangerous blaze at waste facility

A small fire broke out at approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday at Waste Connections, apparently caused by a chemical reaction in a pile of trash workers had recently dumped at the site. Duncan Fire Chief Dayton Burnside said Oakridge Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) was first on the scene and reacted quickly to extinguish the flaming trash heap. “They were first on scene, we just got a call to help them with a fire in Waste Connections’ main building,” Burnside said. “[The fire] was in the trash piles — it was all compacted up, the structure was saved but all [of] the contents of the pile was gone, it was put out in about 45 minutes.

According to Jeff Bruehl, an officer for OVFD, firefighters weren’t alerted to the blaze in the traditional way with a call — in fact, they saw the flames themselves. “— We actually never got the call, we called them, we saw smoke coming from the building because we were next door working on a fire truck,” said Bruehl. “Then, somewhere in between that time and when we got there, two or three other people had called. When we got there, [the fire] was just in the transfer station — they had dumped, looked like a pile of mattresses and bedding and — it was burning in that section. — The sprinkler system activated about the same time we got there and was helping us put it out.

Bruehl said though the exact cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined, it’s likely that the fire was caused by a chemical reaction or some sort of discarded material that shouldn’t have been thrown in a dumpster to begin with.

“Most likely, it was discarded either when they loaded it or unloaded it, [it could be] friction or a chemical reaction, some kind of chemicals in it. I mean, it’s trash, so it’s kind of hard to pinpoint it. We looked at all of the different items in the trash, but we couldn’t find any particular items. It could have been anything from a cigarette discarded to a chemical reaction from something.”

Minimal damage was caused by the fire, according to Bruehl, and no equipment was harmed, but Bruehl did have some tips for the community about what should and shouldn’t be thrown into a trash receptacle. Advice he hopes can help prevent fires like these from happening in the future.

“— Be careful what you throw away, no chemicals — are supposed to be put in the trash dumpsters,” he said. “—It can cause chemical reactions. Paint thinner, oil, bleach even. — A lot of people don’t know it, but [a] bleach and motor oil combination can, it takes an hour or two, it gets hotter and hotter and then bursts into flames if they get mixed together. — An empty bleach bottle still has some residue in it and the right combinations, temperature and the wind — can set off a chemical reaction.”

Williston, ND – Apartment fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries and dog saved

Fort Walton Beach, FL – Restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Firefighters from the Fort Walton Beach and Ocean City-Wright fire departments responded to two fires on Tuesday … At 3 p.m. firefighters responded to a grease fire on a stove at the Ocean Buffet at 309 Miracle Strip Parkway S.W., Soria said. By the time they got there, the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, but the crews remained on the scene to make sure it was out.  Damage was minimal.  Nobody was hurt in either blaze.

Tomah, WI – Fire at assisted-living facility put out with help from sprinkler system

She said staff members got everyone out of the building quickly and that other employees who weren’t scheduled to work dropped what they were doing to help.

“The staff worked their butts off,” Witt said. “This is the first time I realized, wow, there are some really good people who work here.”

Adler said 20 firefighters were on the scene for 2½ hours.

“The fire department was awesome,” Witt said. “The whole community stepped up. It was, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Assisting the fire department were Fort McCoy Ambulance Service and Monroe County 911 Communication Center.

Adler said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It marked the second time in four days the department was called to a structure fire. A structure on Jefferson Street was left uninhabitable Friday after a fire started in a garage.

Stillwater, OK – Early morning fraternity house fire doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Stillwater Fire Department says around 40 Oklahoma State University students have been displaced after a fire early Thursday.Firefighters responded around 3:50 a.m. to a fire alarm at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house near 3rd and Lincoln. It was reported that smoke was coming from a room on the third floor and students were evacuating.

The fire department says the fire had been in a closet and was extinguished by the sprinkler system. No injuries were reported in the fire.  The sprinklers caused significant damaged to the west side of the building, according to the fire department. University officials and the Red Cross are providing assistance to the displaced students.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Tracy, CA – Sprinkler system puts out fire at church

Tracy firefighters were sent to a church Monday afternoon after a small fire on a stairway set off a fire sprinkler and alarm. Battalion Chief Rick Doyle said they were originally sent to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981 Chester Drive, to investigate a fire alarm that sounded shortly after 2 p.m.

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