Suspicious Fire Chars Part of Brooklyn Church

From New York-

A fire badly damaged a Romanesque Episcopal church in Brooklyn early Sunday, and investigators were looking into the possibility that the blaze was the work of an arsonist.

Flames and heavy smoke erupted around 4 a.m. at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, which is nestled between brownstones on Clinton Avenue in Clinton Hill.

The Rev. Christopher Ballard, the church’s curate, said the flames had caused “significant damage,” burning the wooden doors of two entrances and charring the foyer. The sanctuary, he said, remained largely unscathed. No one was injured.

Though the police said the cause remained under investigation, Father Ballard said the fire had been fueled by a pair of gasoline containers donated to Occupy Sandy volunteers, who had used the church as a staging area for hurricane relief efforts. The gasoline was intended to be used in a generator for a Christmas party in the Rockaways on Sunday night. Father Ballard said the containers had been put outside when the church was cleared of most donated materials to make way for Christmas services.
More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/nyregion/fire-damages-church-of-st-luke-and-st-matthew-in-brooklyn.html?_r=0