Blasted Tuscaloosa Church

[ladiva]

There have been too many churches being destroyed, it is sad but here is another one.
Tuscaloosa (AP) - An early morning explosion rocked a well-known church in Tuscaloosa. Police say one person was injured in the blast at Calvary Baptist Church. It happened about 3:30 this morning.

Full Story:
http://beta.abc3340.com/news/stories/0706/345755.html

[catman]

This church is on the UA campus

[ladiva]

This church is on the UA campus

I don't live there so I could be wrong but I thought the article said that it is not far from the campus-Is the article wrong? Just asking because I am not that familar with that area.

[gingin]

It is just above the football stadium....not exactly ON campus but could not be any closer. It's a HUGE church!

[debby]

Thats what I was thinking Gingin. Very close! I'm so sorry to hear this. I was hoping this was over.

[Papa2]

This could be from a gas leak or somethig similar so lets dont jump to conclusions just yet and besides there was someone hurt here and if someone done something you would think they would be the ones hurt!!!

[gingin]

BREAKING NEWS: Police, fire officials believe explosion was accidental


UPDATED 12:05 p.m. TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa police and fire officials are saying that the explosion this morning that destroyed most of the college annex of Calvary Baptist Church on Bryant Drive was not intentional.

Tuscaloosa police Chief Ken Swindle said at about 11:30 a.m. that the scene had been released to fire investigators for the church’s insurance company.

“At this point, we do think it was accidental,” Swindle said.

It appears that Wade Steed, 20, wandered into a mechanical room of the annex through an unlocked door and somehow managed to trigger the explosion.

“We don’t know how he got in there or why went in, but there were no signs of forced entry that we could find,” Swindle said. “From statements of some of the others who were with him earlier on that night, I believe alcohol may have been involved.”

The explosion occurred about 3:40 a.m., and two witnesses notified the police and fire departments, Swindle said.

Officers arrived to find Steed suffering from burns and lying at the edge of the annex’s parking lot near the intersection of 12th Street and Bryant Drive.

“As we can determine at this time, he was the only person at the scene, other than the witnesses,” Swindle said. “But there’s no connection between them.”

Steed was taken first to DCH Regional Medical Center and then flown about 5:20 a.m. to the burn center at UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, the chief said.

Swindle said Steed faces no charges at this point, but investigators may obtain a trespassing warrant. Additional charges, if warranted, also could be filed as the investigation continues.

“Hopefully he can tell us more,” Swindle said. “When we talked with him at the scene, he said all he could remember was being in the room, hearing a hissing sound and then the explosion.”

Federal, state and local authorities spent this morning poring over the remains of the annex looking for what caused the massive explosion that injured Steed and blew out three of the building’s walls.

Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tommy Simpson said the agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Alabama and Federal bureaus of investigation, were summoned because of the explosion and because the affected building is a house of worship.

The church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Walter Jackson. He said he arrived about 4 a.m. to find the most of the building destroyed, with steel girders and support beams supporting shreds of air ducts, plywood, ceiling tiles and Fiberglas insulation that was spilling into the parking lot.

Some glass and other debris fragments were blown all the way across Bryant Drive and into the parking lot of Calvary Baptist Church.

Jackson said he did not know who Steed was or why he was in the vicinity of the building. The building was supposed to be empty, and there were no programs going on at the time.

Although the exact cause of the explosion is still unknown, Jackson said he smelled natural gas in the air upon arriving. He also said he had not been told by law enforcement officials at the scene whether the explosion was accidental or intentional.

Portions of the building date back more than 50 years, when it was first used as a Jewish synagogue.

About 15 years ago, Calvary Baptist purchased the building and made some additions, Jackson said. The new part of the building was left virtually unharmed by the explosion.
The annex houses Calvary Baptist’s college ministries, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an English as a Second Language program and The Well, a Wednesday night worship service for young people, among other functions.

Jackson said the First Baptist Church on Greensboro Avenue, which Calvary Baptist operates under, as well as the state Baptist convention had contacted him to offer assistance.

It remained unclear Wednesday morning where these services would be held while the building remains unusable, but Jackson was confident the college students would help find solutions.

“I know the University of Alabama students, they’ll reach out and be very creative,” Jackson said. “We’ll figure it out.”

[ladiva]

This could be from a gas leak or somethig similar so lets dont jump to conclusions just yet and besides there was someone hurt here and if someone done something you would think they would be the ones hurt!!!

I just thought that it was sad that another church was destroyed even if it was an accident

[gingin]

TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa police and fire officials say an explosion Wednesday morning that destroyed most of the college annex of Calvary Baptist Church was the result of an accident.

Tuscaloosa police Chief Ken Swindle said Wednesday that police had turned the scene of the explosion over to fire investigators for the church’s insurance company.

“At this point, we do think it was accidental," Swindle said.

Investigators said it appeared that Wade Steed, 20, wandered into a mechanical room of the annex through an unlocked door and somehow triggered the explosion.

“We don’t know how he got in there, or why he went in, but there were no signs of forced entry that we could find," Swindle said. “From statements of some of the others who were with him earlier on that night, I believe alcohol may have been involved."

The Rev. Walter Jackson, senior pastor for Calvary Baptist, said he didn’t know whether any doors were left unlocked or how Steed got inside.

“All I know is, he was in there," Jackson said.

The explosion occurred about 3:40 a.m., and two witnesses notified the police and fire departments, Swindle said.

Officers arrived to find Steed suffering from burns and lying at the edge of the annex parking lot near the intersection of 12th Street and Bryant Drive.

“As we can determine at this time, he was the only person at the scene other than the witnesses," Swindle said. “But there’s no connection between them."

Steed was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center and then flown to the burn center at UAB Medical Center in Birmingham at 5:20 a.m., the chief said.

A spokeswoman at the center said Steed was listed in serious condition Wednesday afternoon.

Swindle said Steed does not face criminal charges but that investigators may charge him with trespassing. Additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

“Hopefully, he can tell us more," Swindle said. “When we talked with him at the scene, he said all he could remember was being in the room, hearing a hissing sound and then the explosion."

The explosion prompted police to evacuate nearby apartment complexes such as Murray Manor apartments next to the annex.

About 15 people from the apartments were displaced. One of them, Tara Essary, 19, said she first heard of the explosion from police.

Essary said she waited outside the apartments for several minutes until officers told her that she might have to stay away for at least an hour in case there were other explosions.

“Then I went to a friend’s house because I wanted to get some sleep," said Essary, a University of Alabama sophomore majoring in business.

Essay said her neighbors had re-entered their residences when she returned to the complex at 8 a.m.

Federal, state and local authorities spent Wednesday morning poring over the remains of the annex, seeking the cause of the explosion that blew out three of the building’s walls.

Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tommy Simpson said agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alabama and federal bureaus of investigation were summoned because the explosion occurred in a church.

Jackson said he arrived at the annex about 4 a.m. and found most of the building destroyed, with steel girders and beams supporting shredded air ducts, plywood, ceiling tiles and Fiberglas insulation spilling into the parking lot.

Some glass and other debris fragments were blown across Bryant Drive and onto the church parking lot.

The pastor said he did not know who Steed was or why he was in the building. The building was supposed to be empty, and there were no programs going on at the time.

Although the cause of the explosion is not known, Jackson said he smelled natural gas when he arrived.

Portions of the building date back more than 50 years, when it was the site of a Jewish synagogue.

About 15 years ago, Calvary Baptist purchased the building and made additions, Jackson said. The new part of the building was all but destroyed in the explosion, and the older portion was damaged.

The annex houses Calvary Baptist’s college ministries, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an English as a Second Language program and The Well, a Wednesday night worship service for young people.

Jackson said First Baptist Church on Greensboro Avenue, which opened Calvary Baptist about a century ago as a way to reach college students, had contacted him to offer assistance, as had other area churches and the state Baptist convention and association.

It remained unclear Wednesday where the programs held at the annex would be moved to, but Jackson said he was confident the college students would find solutions.

“I know the University of Alabama students, they’ll reach out and be very creative," Jackson said. “We’ll figure it out.

“We’ve been committed to them for 95 years, and they’re committed to us."