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Fireworks possible cause of church fire  Share
Fireworks are the possible cause of a fire that damaged the Manteno Church of God on the night of July 14. Firefighters were called to the scene around 8:53 p.m. with a report of fire in a tree next to the church, at 126 E. First St. Manteno Fire Chief Scott O'Brien said when the department arrived, the fire was blowing out from inside the church. O'Brien said it took firefighters about 25 minutes to have the flames under control, but crews were on the scene for several hours. ''The crews did an excellent job stopping the spread of the fire, and it actually could've been a lot worse,'' O'Brien said. The east side of the fellowship hall sustained extensive fire damage, but the offices, vestibule and sanctuary were in tact, according to O'Brien, and only suffered slight smoke damage.
The building sustained approximately $100,00 - $125,000 worth of damage. While the cause is still being investigated by the regional investigation team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the cause appears to be neighbors playing with fireworks. O'Brien said the department is required to contact ATF because the building was a church. There were no occupants in the building at the time of the fire. One firefighter sprained a knee and was treated and released at Provena St. Mary's Hospital. Manteno Fire Department was assisted by Bradley, Bourbonnais, Grant Park, Peotone and Momence fire departments, along with a Riverside ambulance. Russell Publications prints several community newspapers each week, serving Will, Kankakee and Cook counties.
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