Arson Is Investigated as Cause of Fire at Reseda Church : Religion: The blaze, causing $300,000 in damage, is the third in less than nine months at the location used by Hungarians and Salvadorans.

A fire investigated by authorities as arson Sunday destroyed the sanctuary of the Grace Hungarian Reformed Church in Reseda, forcing the congregation to hold services in the parking lot while church elders called for an end to such attacks.

The blaze, which did $300,000 damage, was the third fire on the church property at 18858 Erwin St. in less than nine months, authorities said. No one has been arrested for setting the fires.

About 40 of the church’s 140 members grouped together in the parking lot for a makeshift service, some crying, others shocked that anyone could torch a place of worship.

“Everybody is still in shock,” said Julia Palotay, a church elder. “This is more than we can understand.”

The fire Sunday began at about 6:15 a.m., Firefighter Paul Gutierrez said. Twenty firefighters extinguished the blaze in 31 minutes. No one was injured, but flames destroyed the sanctuary.

In April, a fire caused more than $100,000 damage to the community hall, where the church held dances, speeches and other social events. Investigators believe that the blaze was started accidentally by electrical wires, but the fire is still being investigated, authorities said.

Three weeks later, a fire damaged one room of a house on church grounds that was being decorated for the congregation’s new pastor, authorities said. That fire was deliberately set with an unidentified flammable liquid, Fire Department Capt. Stephen Ruda said.

Chief church elder Leslie Eloed said Sunday that he faulted the Fire Department for not moving faster to catch whoever is responsible before another fire was set.

Ruda countered that fire officials had been diligent in investigating the fire, but said no witnesses had come forward with information.

“We are compassionate and we feel bad for the church and we will continue our investigation, but we need the help of the church community and the community in general in helping us when a case comes to a dead end,” he said.

The motive for the Sunday fire was unknown, but investigators had found no evidence to indicate that it was a hate crime against Hungarians, Ruda said. Parishioners, meanwhile, struggled to find answers for the assault.

Eloed wondered if the crime was directed against a Salvadoran congregation which rents the sanctuary for services. Others were concerned the arsonist intended to single out Hungarians, Eloed said.

The church was founded in Reseda 34 years ago by Hungarian refugees. It has been at its present location for 21 years, offering weekly services in Hungarian.

Church leaders hope to hold future services at another church until they decide whether to rebuild the facility or move to a new location. Eloed said he was unsure how much of the damage would be covered by fire insurance.

The church will hold a parking-lot vigil addressing the crime next Sunday with the Salvadoran congregation and members of some other churches.

“Our first aim is to raise consciousness,” Eloed said. “Attacking one church repeatedly cannot and should not go unpunished.”