Alabama: Chilton County Church Fire Blamed on Arson

Investigators have determined arson was to blame for a fire that destroyed a church near Clanton, Ala., last month, but they don’t know if the blaze was linked to one set a week later at another church in the same county.

The fire that razed Maples Springs Baptist Church near Clanton on Dec. 29 was deliberately set, Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office, said Tuesday.

Authorities believe a fire that heavily damaged Providence Number 1 Baptist Church in northern Chilton County days later also was arson, but Ingram said investigators had yet to determine whether the same person was responsible for both blazes.

Agents have ruled out any connection between the Chilton County cases and the fires that damaged three churches in southeast Alabama around New Year’s, Ingram said. Two alleged Satan worshippers are charged in attacks on those churches in Russell and Lee counties.