By Akilah Johnson and Joe Cavaretta
The Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Sunday morning fire forced the congregation of the Lighthouse Church of God to worship outside in a grassy parking lot.
About 50 parishioners held hands, prayed and sang as Fort Lauderdale firefighters scrambled across the roof of their church, trying to locate the source of the smoky fire that forced them to evacuate. Each “Hallelujah!” and “Praise the Lord!” was barely audible over the rumble of the fire engines.
“Everybody’s fine, thank the Lord for that,” said church treasurer Charles Holgate, who led the outdoor prayer.
Holgate said about 70 people were gathered in the sanctuary at 1890 SW 31st Ave. when the church’s fire alarm sounded about 10:30 a.m., just as the regular Sunday service started. Everyone evacuated immediately, he said.
Once outside, “we started seeing smoke coming out and a couple of the brethren grabbed fire extinguishers” and ran back inside, he said.
Pastor James Ladon Aldridge was in Houston attending his father-in-law’s funeral.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Sunday. Also unknown was the extent of the damage the blaze and smoke left behind.
When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy black smoke but no flames coming from the church just south of Davie Boulevard.
“We found flames in the rear of the church, where the offices and classrooms are. The main body of the church was fine,” said Division Chief Lois Bowman, of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue.
Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading, she said, adding that the church might have some smoke damage and smell a bit charred for a while.
Bowman said the church’s fire-alarm system played a huge part in limiting the damage and making sure everyone made it out safely.
“If it wasn’t for the detector, they would have smelled smoke, maybe seen smoke, buy they were able to leave long before the harmful toxins in the smoke were in the church,” she said.
Fire prevention week is approaching, and Bowman said Sunday’s fire is a good reminder to change your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks to adjust for the end of daylight saving time, coming up on Nov. 1.
Copyright 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel