Arsonists struck a second Vancouver-area church overnight. The fire at the Liberty Bible Church of the Nazarene was extinguished by sprinklers, but there was significant water damage.
Like a similar fire early Wednesday at First Congregational United Church of Christ, this fire occurred about 3 a.m. at a landmark church in Clark County Fire District 6, which serves Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek.
David Schmitke, a spokesman for the fire district, said firefighters were dispatched at 3:05 a.m. today after the fire alarm sounded at the church, 12401 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. They arrived to find the sprinklers running outside the building. A walk around the building showed that an object had been thrown through a rear window into the preschool area, starting a fire that subsequently triggered a number of fire sprinklers inside the building.
The fire was out, but the water had caused extensive damage to the lower level of the two-story church, Schmitke said.
The large church, which is about 20 years old, is a landmark in Pleasant Valley, sits on five acres and is easily seen from Interstate 205 northbound just before the Northeast 134th Street exit.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s office was on the scene investigating the fire, Schmitke said.He didn’t know what sort of object had been thrown through the window to start the fire.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Larry Rounsley, said a half-dozen rooms on the ground floor of the building are damaged, including the preschool, a nursery, a room for children with special needs, and a room for seniors.
The church has between 500 and 600 members, he said, and was extensively remodeled in a project that ended about a year and a half ago.
The building is fully insured. Rounsley said church officials should be able to decide in the next 24 hours if the building can be used for Sunday services.
The two church fires have not been officially connected, but arson is an unusual crime in Clark County. Both occurred about the same time of day, and both involved large churches easily visible from freeways.
The First Congregational fire on Wednesday caused extensive damage to a church that since 1961 has towered over Hazel Dell’s Highway 99 commercial strip. The three-alarm fire started on the outside of the church, and was determined to be deliberately set, Schmitke said.
A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered for information in that fire. Call 800-55-ARSON.
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