St. Joseph Parish Fire Ruled Arson, Investigators Say

Someone deliberately set fire to the maintenance and storage building at St. Joseph Church Fullerton early Saturday morning, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman said Monday. 

Read:  St. Joseph Maintenance Building Destroyed in Fire

Restoration Resources crews are clearing the charred structure, which was deemed "a total loss," the church's Pastor Kevin Schenning said in a statement.

"Flames were leaping a hundred feet in the air by the time Baltimore County Fire units arrived.  God bless the driver on Belair Road who notified 911 that flames were observed on our property," Schenning wrote on the church's website. 

"The maintenance building which was located by the athletic field behind the back parking lot caught fire when the spot-a-pot was purposely set on fire," the statement continued. 

Read the statement in full, here . 

A representative from St. Joseph's Parish was not available for comment Monday. 

Baltimore County police spokeswoman Louise Rogers-Feher said the damage cost to the structure and its contents exceeded $300,000. 

There were no injuries caused by the fire. 

"For now just pray for your parish and that the work ahead of us all goes smoothly," Schenning's statement concludes. "AND thank God that no one was hurt, as material things and a building can be replaced with time."

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