News
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church
Investigators rule St. Elmo fire accidental
August 29, 2009
Fire investigators pursued nearly 60 leads this week before an investigation revealed an electrical malfunction caused Sunday's fire at St. Elmo United Methodist Church.
"Since the beginning of this fire, the people in St. Elmo and Chattanooga and others throughout the community and the parishioners (at) that church wanted an answer, needed an answer and we have that answer," Special Agent Darryl Hill, resident agent in charge of the Chattanooga field office for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Friday.
Investigators determined the fire was started by antiquated wiring in the northeast corner of the church's attic, said Capt. Jim Whitmire, head of the Chattanooga Fire Department investigative division. The church sanctuary was built in 1921, and the section where the fire started had knob-and-tube wiring, which began being phased out in the 1930s.
