Church a total loss following fire in Crockett County

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — A fire that took place Friday night caused heartbreak for community members.

Located on the 6000 block on Highway 189, Faith Pentecostal Church sat on a hill. In one night, what once was a place of worship now lies destroyed.

We spoke to the emergency medical assistant director, Stephen Sutton, who was called to the scene at the time of the fire.

“Crockett County dispatch immediately paged out the Friendship Fire Department, as well as Maury City Fire Department and the Alamo Fire Department, as a result of their automatic mutual aid policies to assist with a known structured fire,” Sutton said.

Authorities say upon arrival, the building was engulfed in flames.

Sutton stated that Friendship Fire Chief Casey Burnett told him the cause of the fire.

“The section of the church that was fully engulfed involved the furnace that heated the church,” Sutton said. “Based off conversations with Casey Burnett, the Friendship Fire Chief, he believes that’s the origin of the fire and where the fire began.”

A full investigation was conducted the night of the fire.

“There does not appear to be any foul play,” Sutton said. “There’s no suspicion regarding the origin of this fire that occurred last night in the city of Friendship.”

Also, there was no one inside of the building that were harmed and there were no injuries as a result to the firemen.

“As you all know, the temperatures and the weather has been bitterly cold,” said Sutton. “Last night, the wind chill in Friendship was negative three degrees Fahrenheit. All fireman were able to make it to the scene safely and no one was hurt as a result of the fireground operation.”

Sutton had these final words to say.

“This is a tragic loss to our community,” Sutton said. “Any time a place of faith is destroyed, obviously our hearts are broken by that. Our thoughts and prayers go out to not only the church leadership but also the members as they try to wrap their heads around this tragic event.”

The Bells Fire Department and the Frog Jump Fire Department assisted in responding to the fire as well.

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