PHOTOS: Cause of fire that destroyed central Arkansas church unknown

Multiple fire departments responded to a fire at Westminster Presbyterian Church on John Calvin Lane Thursday night.
Multiple fire departments responded to a fire at Westminster Presbyterian Church on John Calvin Lane Thursday night.

Authorities are not yet sure what caused Westminster Presbyterian Church to catch fire, but a structure that had been a part of the community for more than 40 years burned to the ground Thursday night.

Firefighters from more than half a dozen agencies responded about 7:45 p.m. Thursday to a report of a church on fire, Pulaski County sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said. No one was injured in the blaze, Burk said.

The church, an A-frame structure nestled among dozens of looming pines on John Calvin Drive, burned quickly and, by 9 p.m., only the wooden beams of the bell tower remained.

Church members gathered across the street from the flames and recounted marriages, baptisms and years spent in Westminster Presbyterian.

Betty Hartwick, who did not attend the church but lives only yards away from the structure, said she remembers it being a pillar of the community even when she first moved to John Calvin Drive in 1978.

"It was a beautiful little church," Hartwick said Thursday, as she watched the flames creep higher from her front lawn. "It was just a little country church. The bells would ring on Sunday."

Hartwick said she did not know the church was on fire until she heard several sirens blaring near her front door. When she stepped outside, the fire was already burning. Hartwick said she had friends who attended the church and that she used to go to potlucks from time to time.

"It will certainly be missed," she said. "It was such a beautiful church."

Metro on 07/20/2018

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