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A fire inside the sanctuary of a Delaware church was started by an act of arson, authorities said.
State Fire Marshal Chief Deputy Robert Fox said multiple fires were started inside Reach Church, in Glasgow, news outlets reported.
Fox said the fire was caused by an “unknown subject igniting combustible material.”
Firefighters arrived at the church around 11 p.m. Monday and had to cut holes in the church’s steeple to ventilate the building.
No one was injured. The fire caused approximately $250,000 in damages.
Reverend Chuck L. Betters said the church was planning to reopen for in-person services on Aug. 2, months after hosting outdoor and online services due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Perseverance is ‘finishing its work’ on Reach Church, and I am 100 percent convinced that we will emerge more ‘complete’ than ever,” Betters said. “Jesus said, ‘I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”’