State Fire Marshal Determines Atmore Church Fire Was Caused By Lightning

March 18, 2025

Investigators have confirmed that a Saturday night fire that destroyed an Atmore Church was caused by lightning.

The fire was reported during a heavy thunderstorm just before 11 p.m. Saturday. Just hours after the fire started, Atmore Fire Chief Ronald Peebles said it appeared the fire was likely caused by lighting.

Investigators from the Alabama Department Fire Marshal’s Office returned to the Horner Street Scene Sunday morning, and by Monday, they confirmed the cause of the fire was a lightning strike. Alabama Department of Insurance – Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office Public Information Officer Jennifer Bowen confirmed the cause determination on Monday.

Neighbors told NorthEscambia.com Saturday night that they saw multiple lighting strikes in the area before the fire.

The fire first broke through the roof (pictured left) where the church’s old sanctuary joins a fellowship hall and classrooms that were constructed after a tree fell into the old sanctuary in the days following Hurricane Ivan.

Despite a high-pressure water flow of up to 1,500 gallons a minute from an Atmore Fire Department ladder truck, the massive fire quickly raced through about 160 feet of the attic of the building, with the steeple and cross crashing down into the flames (pictured top).

Dozens of firefighters from across the area responded to the fire, including the Atmore, Barnett Crossroads, Poarch Creek, Little Rock and Nokomis fire departments from Alabama, and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia (FL) Fire Rescue, with additional personal from Florida. The Atmore Police Department and other agencies also responded to fire, located just over a block off Atmore’s Main Street.

Firefighters remained on scene into the early morning hours of Sunday. There were no injuries reported.

For more photos from Sunday morning following the fire, click here.

For a photo gallery from the fire, click here.

Pictured top: The moment the steeple and cross collapsed into the flames Saturday night at First Presbyterian Church of Atmore. Pictured above and below: First destroyed the church, ripping through the attic. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under TOP STORIES