Unattended candle to blame for Arlington Heights church fire

An unattended holiday candle is believed to have been the cause of a fire Sunday afternoon at an Arlington Heights church, authorities said Monday.

Firefighters responded to an activated fire alarm about 3 p.m. Sunday at the Christian Church of Arlington Heights, 333 W. Thomas Ave., and arrived to find smoke coming from a conference room on the southeast corner of the building, according to Arlington Heights Fire Department Division Chief David Roberts.

Crews were able to get the main body of the fire under control within 10 minutes, he said, but they spent extra time checking for fire extension into the roof.

No one was at the church when the fire broke out, and no firefighters were injured putting it out.

The office and church sanctuary will remain unoccupied for now because of damages, but the classroom area was left unscathed.

"The guys got a good stop on it, and saved the place from extensive damage," Roberts said.

Roberts added that the department has responded to other candle-related fires in recent weeks, as December is the peak time of year for home candle fires.

"It was just that someone forgot to put the candle out after the service," Roberts said. "But the alarm system did its job. We go on a ton of these that are accidental, and this one ended up being the real deal."