Bell says tenth Ala. church fire ‘unrelated’ to previous nine

It’s likely that the 10th fire at a the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church near the Mississippi line was started by an arsonist whose actions are totally unrelated to the arsonists responsible for any of the other nine fires, according to Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter A. Bell.

“The latest fire at a Baptist Church last weekend doesn’t fit the same pattern as the other nine churches torched,” Bell told members of the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents during its Annual Legislative Conference in Montgomery, Ala.

Bell’s suspicions were affirmed the following week when two children were apprehended as “copy-cats” who set the fire. At the same time there were no leads on the other fires.

All torched buildings were Baptist churches, the predominant religion in the southeast, and all fires were in rural locations.

Bell explained that nine of the church fires started inside the churches near the pulpit; while the 10th fire began outside the church.

Bell said the governor, the Fire Marshall, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agency and other law-enforcement officers have been actively involved in attempts to apprehend the culprits. He said they are spending a lot of time following up on more than 300 leads.

Up to now investigators have suspected the first nine fires were started by two white men in their 20s or 30s driving a sport utility vehicle. Some reports even indicate that one of the arsonists might have been trapped inside one of the churches.

The latest fire was also the only one that was not set during pre-dawn hours.

Bell said rewards of $100,000 have been offered and that Alfa Insurance, as part of its policies, offers an additional $7,500 reward.

Topics Alabama