$3M San Antonio Church Fire Investigated

Federal arson officials now are among nearly three dozen investigators looking into a fire that gutted an historic San Antonio church.

The Childress Memorial Church of God in Christ went up in flames Friday. It’s about a mile north of an area where at least five other fires over the past two months have been ruled as arson blazes.

A federal team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined authorities who already include a forensic chemist, engineers and accelerant detection dogs.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood tells the San Antonio Express-News investigators also are trying to stabilize the 100-year-old church and recover artifacts from the rubble that are of value to people who attended services there. He’s estimates the loss at $3 million.