Fire Claims Historic Church

Electrical Problem Blamed in Blaze at Fairfax Sanctuary Built by Freed Slaves By Tara BahrampourWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, December 21, 2004; Page B01 Sunday night, the children at Laurel Grove Baptist Church in Fairfax County staged a Christmas nativity play and collected toys for a nearby children's hospital. Hours later, the blackened ruins of the 120-year-old white clapboard church stood jaggedly against the winter sky after it was destroyed by fire early yesterday morning. The fire, which was reported by a passing motorist at 4:11 a.m., was caused by an electrical malfunction in the attic, said Lt. Raul G. Castillo of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. High winds fanned the flames, he said, adding that more than 50 firefighters fought the blaze. Two were treated for minor injuries at a hospital after slipping on ice that formed around the building. More information: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15152-2004Dec20.html