Kountze, Tex. firefighters responded to The First Baptist Church at 1:30 p.m. April 12.
The fire took five-and-a-half hours to contain. The eight departments that responded included Kountze, Lumberton, Pine Ridge, Sour Lake, Saratoga, Wildwood, Silsbee and a quint from Beaumont.
An initial interior attack was attempted, but due to extreme fire conditions the crew was instructed to pull back. A defensive mode was established with firefighters operating five master streams and numerous 2.5" hand Lines.
.The City of Kountze Water Department was able to boost the supply to the water system to support the flow totaling over 2.1 million gallons.
There were no injuries reported from this fire. ATF agents were on scene within minutes of the first alarm.
