Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 9, 1990 TAG: 9005090435
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE LEXINGTON BUREAU
DATELINE: VESUVIUS LENGTH: Medium
Both the Vesuvius Baptist Church and the Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church in Steeles Tavern were set ablaze, said sheriff's deputies in Rockbridge and Augusta counties. The two fires appear to be related, investigators said.
"We've got arson. There's no doubt about that," said Lt. J.E. Mader of the Augusta County Sheriff's Department, who is investigating the Mount Carmel fire.
He said flames were set in several different places inside the 75-year-old church, which sustained some $150,000 worth of smoke and water damage in the afternoon fire.
Details about the origin of the Vesuvius church blaze were unclear because much of the church was gutted by flames, said Rockbridge County sheriff's deputies.
But deputies said that fire was suspicious, too.
'There's a possibility they are breaking in and setting fire to cover their tracks," said Vernon Reynolds, an investigator with the Rockbridge County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies said there is no reason to believe the churches were burned by members of any cult or anti-Christian group.
"We don't know who we're hunting for," said Mader. "We have no suspects."
Deputies checked other churches in Rockbridge County Tuesday afternoon, but found no additional fires, Reynolds said.
"We hate to see darkness come," he added. Area deputies were instructed to keep a watchful eye on churches last night, said Mader.
The first fire was reported shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. Connie Browning, who lives across the street from the 65-year-old Vesuvius church, remembered hearing someone driving by and honking his horn.
When she looked outside, she said, smoke was pouring out of an upstairs church window.
Browning quickly called the church pastor, Carson Riley.
"My wife called the Fire Department," said Riley, standing in the church parking lot among fire trucks Tuesday afternoon. Parts of the church were still smoking, and pieces of the ruined roof floated by like falling leaves. "I ran up to see what was going on."
When he got to the church, Riley recalled, he and others managed to save some books and records, but much of the church - including the sanctuary - was eventually gutted by flames.
He said the people of Vesuvius built the church themselves in the early part of the century, donating money and labor. "A lot of the life of the people in the area is invested in the building. That's all kind of up in smoke now," Riley said.
Riley said he thought the 300-plus member church, which has been broken into in the past, was burned "out of pure meanness."
Members will continue to meet in another building, possibly the local community center, until the church can be rebuilt, he said.
Firefighters from several fire departments responded to the Vesuvius blaze, and so were nearby when a passerby reported smoke at Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church a little after 2 p.m.
That blaze was quickly extinguished, said deputies. Church members said despite the smoke and water damages, services will be held at the church this Sunday.
Mount Carmel Presbyterian's 250 or so members already had suffered one blow with the death this week of its pastor, Russell Fleming. Fleming died of a heart attack, church members said.
In addition to the two fires, a third church, Victory Baptist Church near Staunton, was burglarized sometime Monday night, Mader said.
Mader said he didn't know if the burglary, in which someone broke into the church and ate some food stored there, was linked to the torching of the other two churches.
Deputies did not know Tuesday afternoon if anything was stolen from the Mount Carmel or Vesuvius churches before they were set afire.
by CNB