A devastating fire late Thanksgiving night in Buford destroys a church along East Moreno Street, leaving Gwinnett County fire officials to clean up the damage overnight.
Reports from several media outlets say that the fire at the First Pentecostal Church of Buford was spotted by young members of the church after 10:00 p.m. Gwinnett County Fire Captain Ryan McGiboney said in a press release that a member of the congregation’s leadership informed them that two young male church members had observed the smoke pouring out of the building and attempted to put out the fire with fire extinguishers without success. During their search, firefighters encountered fire in the attic section above the sanctuary, .
Pastor Jordan Copeland tells the media that the fire was originally spotted coming from the attic area of the church, which was heavily damaged throughout the structure. Captain McGiboney says there were no entrapments and no injuries reported as the fire was contained to within the building, but that crews were not able to enter the structure to battle flames, due to conditions rapidly changing, including a sudden intensity of heat and fire growth.
The cause for the fire is under investigation, but McGiboney says they cannot rule out the possibility of an electrical source, while they do not suspect criminal activity.
