Parishioners carry on despite weekend fire

More than one hundred members of the Grapevine Fellowship attended their 9 a.m. worship service Sunday in the parking lot next to the site where their church had burned to the ground the day before.

Some of the members brought lawn chairs and others umbrellas to shade themselves.

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you don't make the curve and we've made the curve," Pastor Dean Higginbotham said after Sunday's service.

The church at 2323 S. Nellis Boulevard was gutted Saturday evening by a fire, which started in an air conditioner in the attic, that spread throughout the church.

Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said the department received the call at 5:23 p.m. Thirty minutes later, the roof collapsed.

The blaze was extinguished around 7 p.m. Leinbach blamed unobstructed access to the wood in the large attic as the reason for the rapid spreading of the blaze. Damage was estimated at around $1 million.

A few people were in the church setting up for a Generation "X" service scheduled for 7 p.m. when the fire broke out, but no one was injured, Leinbach said. A few firefighters suffered from heat exhaustion, he added.

Many of the parishioners stood in a circle praying Saturday during the blaze.

"We have mixed emotions. We're sad about what happened, but we're excited about the future," Higginbotham said, adding that they plan to rebuild the church.

He said he was impressed by the outpouring of support by representatives from other congregations offering their facilities. Next Sunday's services will be held at Calvary Foursquare Church, 2929 Cedar Ave.

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