Some members of the First Christian Church in Bellefontaine believe divine intervention prevented a fire from destroying their place of worship.
Evidence of the fire was discovered around 8 a.m. Sunday morning when a member arrived to prepare for the day’s service.
The church was full of stagnant smoke and there was the smell of fire in the air.
Upon further inspection, fire damage was evident on one wall, but an adjacent table, where church literature is on display for congregants, was hardly damaged.
The fire scene was a new one on Bellefontaine Assistant Fire Chief Dwayne Dow.
Dow said the fire appears to have started from a malfunctioning thermostat mounted on the wall.
He said the flames appear to have started there and spread through the wall, but then the fire appears to have “self-extinguished itself.”
“I’ve never seen where it caught other things on fire, and then self extinguished itself,” Dow said. “They are calling it a miracle.”
The church’s sanctuary was coated with a film of smoke and the fire caused an estimated $20,000 in damages.
It’s believed the fire occurred sometime overnight between Saturday and Sunday.
