West Anderson Church of God damaged by fire
Multiple Anderson County fire departments responded to a fire at West Anderson Church of God at 101 Rogers Street on Saturday, March 16.
Anderson County Fire Chief Jimmy Sutherland confirmed that the fire was accidental and occurred during construction at the church.
The fire was contained; fortunately, no major injuries were reported, Sutherland said.
"One of our firefighters was treated for heat exhaustion," he said. "He's okay, nothing serious; we just wanted to be cautious."
The church held a worship service the next day, on March 17, in a nearby parking lot.
In a live video posted on the West Anderson Church of God Facebook page, Pastor Mark Daniels expressed gratitude for the support the church has received and confirmed their commitment to rebuilding and keeping the church and school open.
"We have set up a temporary hub to hold midweek church services in the Christian Life Center," Daniels said. "Work has started on repairing the daycare facility. When parents go to work, they need a safe place for their kids to come.
"Our primary objective for the initial phase of recovery is to reopen our school for operation."
According to Anderson County Fire Chief Jimmy Sutherland, "The Christian Life Center and the daycare were barely affected by the fire but sustained water and smoke damage."
"If we have to, we will use the Christian Life Center as a temporary school," Daniels said. "As far as renovations are concerned, we have spoken with the insurance company and consulted with engineers and insurance adjusters."
"Two fire restoration companies have submitted bids to restore the church," Daniels. "We want to get the water and smoke damage fixed as soon as possible so we can return our children to school."
West Anderson Church of God church members are selling T-shirts as a fundraising opportunity.
Shirts are available in sizes YXS to A4XL and are $17 per shirt, $2 extra for shirts XXL and above.
The deadline to order or pay for a shirt is April 5.
Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@gannett.com .