Published: December 16, 2008 08:35 am      

Church Sanctuary Damaged

Reward offered for tips in Henderson Avenue incident

CUMBERLAND — Fire inside a vacant and locked Henderson Avenue residence has been ruled arson. Meanwhile, causes of weekend fires in a Lonaconing church and a North End residence in Cumberland are not yet known.

The Henderson Avenue fire was apparently detected by a neighbor at about 6 p.m. Sunday, prompting Cumberland Fire Department to be at the scene for an hour-and-a-half.

“We knocked it down with probably 25 gallons of water,” said Cumberland Fire Chief Bill Herbaugh.

The incident at 447 Henderson has been determined to be arson, prompting response of Cumberland fire investigator Shannon Adams and Deputy State Fire Marshal Ryan Chapman to the scene.

The ongoing investigation by the Cumberland Fire Department, State Fire Marshal’s Office and the C3I Unit also included the assistance of an arson-detecting dog in the fire marshal’s office.

Forced entry was made into the property before the fire was set in the first-floor area, Herbaugh said.

The property is owned by the Carl McIntyre estate, according to fire officials.

A $5,000 reward is being offered by the Maryland Arson Hotline operated by the state fire marshal’s office at 1-800-492-7529.

In Lonaconing, the 8:56 p.m. Sunday fire at the First Presbyterian Church at 1 East Main St. began in the sanctuary area and was first detected by a neighbor, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Mattingly, who is continuing to investigate the incident.

Damage was estimated at $30,000 to the two-story frame that was constructed in 1861. The loss in damage to its contents was placed at $5,000, according to Mattingly.

Approximately 70 volunteer firefighters from Good Will, Midland, Barton, Westernport, Bloomington, Piedmont, Clarysville and Frostburg responded to the scene.

In another report, the cause of an early Saturday fire that heavily damaged a residence at 813 Edgewood Drive remains under investigation by the Cumberland Fire Department.

The fire displaced Jane Pownall, the property owner and occupant, who escaped the 3:11 a.m. fire without injury.

Herbaugh said the preliminary estimate for damage to the building and its contents was estimated at a minimum of $50,000.

In an unrelated matter, fire in a vacant two-story frame dwelling at 13204 Pershing St. SW in Bowling Green last Friday afternoon caused $3,000 in damages to the structure and $2,000 to the contents, according to the state fire marshal’s office.

The property, owned by Brenda Ayers, sustained minor damage following the 3:27 p.m. incident.

Mattingly determined the fire was caused by malfunction of a gas boiler that caused an explosion in the heating unit.

Fifteen volunteer firefighters from Bowling Green and Cresaptown responded to the scene.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.