Seattle Church Destroyed In Arson Fire

A fire that destroyed the Pentecostal Community Church in Seattle’s Central Area was arson.

No one was inside the two-story wooden building and no injuries were reported in the three-alarm blaze Friday night.

Damage to the building was estimated at $500,000 and damage to the contents was estimated at $250,000, said Fire Department spokeswoman Georgia Taylor.

The fire was started outside the back of the church in some debris, including an old piano, Taylor said.

The blaze was reported shortly before 9 p.m., and firefighters responded four minutes later. Some 80 firefighters battled the fire from outside the building and extinguished it by 10:30 p.m.

Taylor said the arson was under investigation.

Bishop F.L. Braswell, the pastor of the temple, said his congregation had been meeting in the building since 1967.

Three Pentecostal congregations, each with at least 50 members, use the building, said Pat Wright, director of the Total Experience Gospel Choir, who lives in the area. The downstairs sanctuary can accommodate 400 people, with smaller meeting rooms in the back, she told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The building was insured.