Electrical Fire Causes Damage to Lilburn Church

A small fire at a Lilburn church Sunday (July 21) is believed to be accidental. 

No one was injured and one room received minor structural damage at Christian Spiritual Warfare Ministries, located in a two-story strip mall on the 4400 block of Lawrenceville Highway, according to Gwinnett County Fire spokesman Lt. Colin Rhoden. 

Investigators believe the fire was started by electricity in the area of an exhaust fan, Rhoden continued. 

Firefighters were called the scene around 11:04 p.m. after a 911 caller said they found heavy smoke and fire in a room of the church. Members of the church and other strip mall business owners attempted to put out the fire with extinguishers but were unable to. 

Firefighters arrived and found heavy smoke on the lower level of the strip mall. They entered the church, found the area of origin and quickly extinguished the blaze.

Two thorough searches were completed throughout the entire building including the attic space and the surrounding units, Rhoden said. Firefighters deployed firefighting hose lines and protected the exposures around and above the unit where the fire originated.  

Smoke filled the church and the surrounding units. A Gwinnett County arson investigator was called to the scene for cause and origin determination.

Equipment On the Scene: 4-Engines, 1-Ladder Truck, 1-Medic Ambulance, 1-Squad Truck, 2-Battalion Chiefs, 1-Medic Supervisor, 1-Air and Light Truck and PIO. 

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