CHURCH FIRE PROBED
Calgary fire department investigators and the Calgary police arson unit are working to determine what caused a fire at House of Prayer Alliance Church on Sunday.
Calgary Police Service's arson unit is assisting fire investigators to determine the cause of a blaze at a southeast church Sunday evening.
The pastor of the House of Prayer Alliance Church says he was saddened to learn about the fire that will displace his congregation.
Emergency crews responded to the 4900 block of Forego Avenue S.E. after receiving multiple 911 calls that a building in Forest Lawn was on fire around 7:20 p.m.
When the fire department arrived at the scene, there were large volumes of smoke and fire pouring from the two-storey church.
“We had a small prayer group in the parking area this evening,” said Rev. Mabini Dabalos, after returning home from visiting the scene of the fire. “There are lots of people in the area who have empathy with what's going on with the fire and we gathered to pray.”
According to a news release from the fire department, crews were able to bring the fire under control while they entered the building to extinguish small interior fires. Firefighters searched for any occupants and discovered the church was empty.
“CFD investigators and the CPS Arson Unit are working at the site determining the cause of the fire. Firefighters will be on scene for several hours assisting with the investigation,” said CFD in the release.
The outside of the church building is most extensively damaged by the blaze, though there is smoke damage inside. There has been a recent spike in fires at churches across the country, amid the discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney toured the scene of a fire that left a century-old Catholic church in Morinville in ruins last week that police say might have been deliberately set, calling for an end to the fires.
“It is my prayer that no other churches will be burned,” said Dabalos. “I feel so sad because of what they went through and now for what our church is going through, as well.”
He plans to hold this Sunday's worship service in a nearby park, and will be asking congregants to wear orange shirts to express their sympathy for the Indigenous community.