Arson May Be Cause as Fire Guts Church

Arson is suspected in a fire that gutted a Fullerton church Thursday, the second blaze to strike the church in four months.

Officials at St. Philip Benizi Church declared the sanctuary to be a total loss.

A dozen firefighting vehicles responded to the four-alarm fire at 235 S. Pine St. The blaze was reported at the back of the sanctuary at 2:21 p.m. and was contained at 3:22 p.m.

“Once the investigators have eliminated if it’s an accidental cause, then it will be filed as a criminal fire,” fire battalion Chief John McMasters said.

Earlier this year, the church school building adjacent to the sanctuary sustained $7,500 in damage from a small arson fire, Fullerton Fire Marshall Julie Kunze said. The church was in the midst of repairs when painters saw smoke Thursday and alerted church employees, who called for help, said Debbie Restor, a school secretary.

The sanctuary, built in the mid-1950s, was scheduled for a seismic retrofit and had no sprinkler or alarm system in place, Restor said. The congregation will hold its weekend services in the parish hall, she said.

Investigators ask that anyone with information about the blaze call the Fullerton Fire Department at (714) 738-3116.