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.

Investigators have confirmed that a Saturday night [March 15, 2025] fire that destroyed an Atmore Church was caused by lightning. First Presbyterian Church is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America.

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 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.

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.

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