Last Saturday morning, a fire engulfed Casa Fuego de Dios Church in Rancho Cordova, with authorities responding to what was initially reported as a potential burglary. Sacramento County deputies arrived at the scene to find smoke billowing from the building around 2:54 a.m., prompting the dispatch of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews who worked to contain the blaze that was ultimately upgraded to a second-alarm fire, as noted in an ABC10 report.
Efforts to extensively investigate are underway, as the cause of the fire remains undetermined. Despite the significant damage done by the flames, which led to the complete destruction of the structure, Metro Fire Captain Mark Nunez was quoted by ABC10 saying, "It took about an hour to get the fire contained, right now we're at that phase of cleaning up and making sure that we have no more hotspots." Fortunately, the building was confirmed to be unoccupied at the time, and no injuries have been reported.
Church leaders shared with ABC10 that security footage captured a man breaking into the church and shouting profanities moments before the fire erupted, fueling concerns that the incident may have been an act of arson. In recent months, the church has become no stranger to vandalism, with two calls having been placed to the sheriff’s office regarding homeless loitering since October, as Merlin Resuleo, the pastor's wife, relayed instances of prior property damage to the church.
Following the fire, the church building was razed due to safety hazards, and the congregation has since relocated services to an alternate venue on Cordova Lane. Resuleo told ABC10, "We are just in God's hands, and he's supposed to guide us to go through this." To aid in the recovery, a GoFundMe page has been started to help recoup the damages sustained by the fire.
Meanwhile, a CBS Sacramento report confirms the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District's investigation into the incident as potential arson, though no arrests have been made as of yet.
