CLARKSVILLE, Ark. — The Johnson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) announced that the Union Grove Baptist Church on Highway 352 burned down Sunday, Oct. 3.
It was a historic local landmark built in the 1950s. The church was founded in 1876. Police say the building was a total loss.
“It was devastating. It was pretty devastating at first,” Christy Collins said.
Christy Collins's father was the pastor of the church for 41 years up until his passing late last year.
“While the loss of the building is very sad and at first was very hard to watch and devastating, I’m not discouraged. I know God is even working in this,” she said.
Collins says they will rebuild the church that was founded in 1876. She says the original church was torn down and what’s left of the current church was built in the 1950s. She says Sunday (Oct. 3) they met in the parking lot.
“The memories are in here and you know I still have those, and this is just a physical reminder of that. The church was a comforting place to me, a place of peace that I could come and forget what else was going on in the world,” she said.
One firefighter and one deputy were treated for smoke inhalation.
Before fire crews were called to the scene there was lightning in the area, so they are not ruling a lightning strike as a cause for the fire but that is still under investigation. Rule district 2 assistant fire chief Michael Brandenburg says they hooked up hoses to a fire hydrant next to the church’s parking lot but no water came out of it making it difficult to fight the fire.
“By the time we got everybody here and the water supply and everything, it caught on fire pretty well, so it was tough to put out and when the hydrant didn’t work, we needed more water and it just didn’t happen for us,” he said.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the cause of the fire along with specialized investigators with the Arkansas State Police.
Based on witness accounts, police say the incident does not appear to be suspicious.
