Homeless man arrested for starting fire at Victory Baptist Church
Authorities arrested a homeless man for starting a fire at Victory Baptist Church in South Los Angeles on Sept. 11, that burnt the historic building down and injured three firefighters.
The fire was first reported just after 2:20 a.m. on 4802 S. McKinley Avenue, where the church has been located since the year after its founding in 1943.
During the nearly week-long investigation, investigators at first determined that the fire did not appear to be intentionally set, but located surveillance footage that revealed the opposite.
"LAFD Arson Investigators and the multi-agency House of Worship Arson Task Force initiated an investigation into the fire's cause," Los Angeles Fire Department officials said in a statement on Monday.
On Sunday, they arrested Carlos Diaz, a 23-year-old unhoused individual who is being charged with arson of a structure, with potentially additional charges pending.
The massive fire, which saw nearly 150 firefighters on hand at its peak, destroyed the historic structure, which collapsed while firefighters were inside battling the blaze. On two separate occasions firefighters made mayday calls due to trapped personnel.
One firefighter was hospitalized in moderate condition, another was able to finish fighting the fire before hospitalization, while the third was able to receive care on their own afterwards.
It took about an hour and 40 minutes for firefighters to report containment after they resorted to a defensive strategy after the collapse.
In the wake of the fire, the Victory Baptist Church community mourned the loss of their beloved home, but was not without hope.
"The building is destroyed, but the church still lives," Pastor W. Edward Jenkins said on Sept. 11, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The church is not dead. The church is doing fine. The building is in ruins, but we are going to rebuild."
As crews continued to sift through the rubble of the destruction, they recovered the piano used during Sunday congregation.
"It was pulled out of the ruins and placed on the other side of the church garage," said Jenkins. "Still playable, no inner damage and it was just by divine protection the piano, pulpit, and a few other items were saved in the fire."