House Of Prayer Church Destroyed By Fire Saturday Evening

Published by Editor on May 24, 2014.
Published under Jefferson County
Tags: feature, front

House of Prayer Church Destroyed by fire Saturday evening, May 24, 2014
Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

First Responders were out in force on Saturday night to answer the call of a structure fire off of Hopewell Street in Dandridge. The late evening call came in to E-911 at 8:31pm indicating that there was a fire at 874 Hopewell Street in Dandridge. The Dandridge Volunteer Fire Department, as well as Lakeway, Kansas Talbott, Jefferson City and White Pine Fire Departments, the Jefferson County Rescue Squad, Police Departments, and Emergency Services, quickly responded as plumes of smoke filled the sky in downtown Dandridge. The New Market Fire Department was on hand to assist in covering the Dandridge Fire Station. Dandridge Fire Chief Andy Riley stated that crews worked to control the blaze and keep the fire from spreading to surrounding trees and homes in the densely populated area, getting the situation under control in under an hour. Though Hopewell Street was blocked, none of the residents were evacuated and, according to Chief Riley, no injuries were reported. The structure was identified as the House of Prayer and was pastored by Sister Francis Branner. According to officials at the scene, it was believed that the Church had held services earlier Saturday evening. Sister Branner is well known in the local community for her extensive outreach service to those in need. At the time of press, crews were still on the scene and expected to be there until after midnight. Chief Riley stated that the situation is under control, though the cause of the incident was still unknown and an investigation will be ongoing.