The call went out at 4 o’clock on Thursday as a fire was reported at Calvary Baptist Church at 3200 Kingston Pike.

The church sanctuary was undergoing repainting and minor renovations when a small fire started in the balcony section and caused minor damage. No one was injured in the fire.

“We are not sure what caused it,” Senior Pastor Dan Riley said. “We are waiting for the electrician to get here now.”

“This was a very small incident,” said City of Knoxville Assistant Fire Chief Robert Pollard.“This was only limited to the few pews in the balcony section and the surrounding carpet area.” “This was only limited to the few pews in the balcony section and the surrounding carpet area.”

City of Knoxville Assistant Fire Chief Robert Pollard

The past two weeks, church members have been meeting in the Café area with two services each Sunday while the sanctuary was being redone. With Spring Break around the corner, church attendance will be down as college students go home for the break.  

“Hopefully they can get this fixed, we’ll be back on schedule,” Riley said. “Everything hinges on making sure we know what caused this, so that this won’t happen again.”

Riley hopes to have the sanctuary open in time for the Easter service on March 31.