Furnace triggers alarm at Zion Lutheran Church

Hampton firemen respond quickly to Thursday morning scare

  • Hamtpon firefighters battled freezing temperatures early Thursday morning while finding the cause of smoke in the basement of the fellowship hall next to Zion Lutheran Church north of Hampton.
    Hamtpon firefighters battled freezing temperatures early Thursday morning while finding the cause of smoke in the basement of the fellowship hall next to Zion Lutheran Church north of Hampton.
  • Hampton Fire Chief Dane Schafer adjusts a fan used to help clear smoke from the Zion Lutheran Church fellowship hall.
    Hampton Fire Chief Dane Schafer adjusts a fan used to help clear smoke from the Zion Lutheran Church fellowship hall.

    There were some anxious moments at Zion Lutheran Church north of Hampton early Thursday morning after a furnace motor in the basement burned up in the fellowship hall adjacent to the main church structure, sending smoke throughout the building and triggering an alarm.

    Hampton Fire Chief Dane Schafer said it took fire crews time to find the source of the smoke, but once they did the air cleared quickly and the furnace was turned back on. Pastor David Feddern reported that a neighbor living close to the church reported alarms going off, prompting an emergency call for help.

    "Certainly the fire alarm system worked the way it was designed and obviously when you're talking about a structure on the campus of a church like that I would say there was probably a bit of divine intervention involved there too," he said.

    For a more complete report, see this week's ANR.